Sooner or Later
by Miaka Hatanaka
Summary: Maemi Shimizu was shy by nature. So young. So innocent. Too bad it was all a lie. The unknown woman that concocted this up-front wasn't timid, or innocent at all. Izaya Orihara found his interests in the woman who he always referred to as Jane Doe, the utter mystery girl. Other than an ex-assassin, who was she? (contains dark themes) REWITE COMMENCING
1. Quit

Life. The word in itself was so simple. But the shit that could taint and annihilate it was as complex as the existence of this so-called 'life'. If you're wondering 'what's with the glum atmosphere,' you'll get it sooner or later.

Death. This word had its similarities to its polar opposite. Simple, yet a mystery. What happens to the dead? You see, this young woman didn't believe in heaven because that would suggest she believed in god. Such a being doesn't exist. If it did then why doesn't the 'Almighty' kill all the assholes and bitches instead of her having to do the dirty work for years?

Oops… Wasn't supposed to say that. Spoiler much. Before you jump to conclusions, the girl was not a psychopath who goes around killing people for fun. No, definitely not. Whether you decide to believe in this is up to you. It doesn't really matter.

Anyway, since she didn't believe in god, she didn't believe in hell. Well kind of. To her earth was hell. Or… Japan was hell; since she'd never been anywhere else. The female didn't mean to be melodramatic in any way but she just couldn't stop her thoughts.

You can refer to this woman as Maemi Shimizu. That was her current identity. Her real name's a secret of sorts. If you're wondering why she chose such a happy name, meaning 'a truthful smile' and 'pure water' it's because the brunette wanted this identity to be a new start. She had created so many 'hers' to murder an asshole and then erased that 'her' after, just to form another to kill again. And she simply didn't want to do it anymore. Who would? No matter how many vulgar humans disappeared new ones were being born way faster than she could kill – without being caught. And they didn't do anything personally to her. Not anymore, at least. So what was the point? Plus she had so much fucking money that it wouldn't matter if she didn't have another job for the rest of my life. If you haven't figured it out already the pale girl was an… what people would call an 'assassin'. She hated that word.

Five months ago she quit. It sounded kind of funny, huh? Just quitting? But it wasn't exactly like that. The youth demolished another last – hopefully, the last – identity.

No. Not because she had accomplished in killing her target but because Maemi believed the man didn't deserve to die. When the dark-haired girl told her contractors this they got very heated. She had no choice but to knock them all out to escape. It's not like they paid her yet or anything so Maemi didn't see why they got mad.

'Just because I said I didn't want too? Seriously?' she thought.

_"Get someone else to fucking do it then." She told the masked people even though it didn't really appeal to her. _

_"You signed the contract!" the leader bellowed slowly as if he was talking an idiot. "If you refuse that means you're violating our rules!" he gave a look to his right-hand man. Or men since the others stepped forward too._

_She, Shoko Rikiishi, at the time gave a snort that resembled laughter, "What? Going to kill me, are you?" she drawled with boredom, "I don't think you get how this goes."_

_"No! You!" he pointed, "Don't understand how this goes, child!" spat the boss._

_"Don't interrupt me," she ordered dangerously. "You see." The girl threw back on her calm mask even though she could have ripped out his voice-box then and there. "Your target is strong. So strong you can't deal with him yourself." The rage she had to contain was slowly etching away from the expression of the man in front of her. Anger, hate and fear. "That means you need someone that is stronger than you… which is where I come in." She reminded them all with a smug smile that was just as fake as her name. Though, the young woman made sure to match her eyes with the falseness. And at her words, she saw the group recoil slightly._

_"Don't be so arrogant," the leader snapped at her. "You really think you can win against all of my men?"_

_"You're the one being arrogant." Trying to relax was difficult due to the fact Maemi/Shoko didn't feel as brave or confident as what she sounded. "What? There's only eight of you. Don't go thinking you're tough because you're not. If I was up against the Awakusu-kai then I'd be in trouble." she forced herself to say._

_Shoko saw the enraged face of the boss and would have laughed if she wasn't in such a dire situation. At the man's word to attack, the seven underlings advanced. Shoko hopped from the seat she was in just as a heavily foot sunk into it. The sound of the wood cracking could have been the woman's bones. She took a breath in to calm herself. _

Maemi reverted from her memory and glanced up from her double shot latte. She still was surprised that she escaped. She had a few cuts, bruises, and a broken arm but other than that she was absolutely fine. The woman picked up the mug with both hands causing the long sleeves of her cream knitted sweater to fall from her scarred wrists. The scars wrapped around, they seemed to be painfully layered and stretched out. Quickly taking a sip, her eyes connect with a teen boy. _'Eyes off, buddy. I'm too old for you.' _He must have read it all over her face since he turned away. She wasn't in the best of moods. But at least this allowed her to think more. Letting all the thoughts, she didn't permit herself to finish in the past, wash over her made it easier to stop them again.

Believe it or not, in the woman's years of being an 'assassin', Maemi had broken many contracts when she didn't agree with them. And in the place that she had broken her contracts, the most was Ikebukuro, the city she was currently in. Sure there were a few worthless people around but so far she didn't see anyone who really deserved death.

So, it was alright. Her life was finally looking kind of normal which was nice. The girl with many identities never got to have it. However… even though it was over, and she wouldn't have anything got to do with someone's death ever again… it was still there. The feeling of sinking sharp objects into a living being. The smell of rotting flesh. The sight of clotted blood. She'd never be able to run away from it. And that was okay. Because she deserved it, Maemi or whatever the fuck you wanted to call her knew she did. She was just as revolting as the people she had killed. The female even kept the flip blade, which belonged to her first victim, on her at all times. It was a dull shaded blue and a dark metallic grey that perhaps was shiny and reflective once, though she had never seen it like that. The flip knife was the curved kind that the user held what the woman called the proper way; having the blunt side of the blade against the outer side of the forearm. The image of blood dripping from it appeared in the unknown woman's mind.

She took another sip of coffee trying to ignore the memory. The taste wasn't very good. The coffee she served at her part-time job was way better. It's just she didn't want to get her latte there because then she'd have to pull the innocent girl out. A nineteen-year-old, no less than utterly respectful. 'Maemi Shimizu' was the nice girl that people cared about but never really got close to due to her reserved and introverted nature. It was the ideal situation for the young woman to live somewhat peacefully.

Sure, her job wasn't necessary but it made her look normal and not to mention it gave her something to do. She only had four shifts a week but that was enough.

Maemi took a last sip of coffee; there were grinds at the end. 'How pitiful. How hard is it to check your bloody coffee bean grinder! No wonder why it tasted so burnt.' She thought with annoyance. Sighing, the girl stood up and headed for the exit only to be blocked by a familiar face.

"Hello!" The boy exclaimed cheerily, "I see you didn't like that latte of yours. How 'bout **I **take you somewhere nice?" His hair was neat in a dark shade of blonde which was quite strange, dyed of course.

His presumable friend, who was looking at her before, sweatdropped, "Masaomi, that's not-" he cut himself off.

Maemi smiled kindly at Masaomi Kida, the ex-leader of the yellow scarves. He was one of the woman's targets what felt like ages ago. But when she discovered his identity she refused to kill him. Knowing he was just a kid who didn't even do anything that bad made her do so. Not that he knew any of that.

"Sorry, but I don't think that's very appropriate," Maemi said gently.

"Why?" Kida asked, "Oh I get it! You already have a boyfriend, don't you? A pretty lady like yourself, of course, you do!" he winked with a smile.

The boy's flirty behavior was getting on her nerves a little but she held it back. He had a sweet heart after all. "No, actually."

"Really?" Kida said unbelievingly. "Wow! That's really surprising!"

She continued her smile, though it now looked somewhat sad, "Thanks for the offer, but maybe try to aim towards your age group next time, 'kay?" The woman was half-heartedly pulling on and off Maemi.

"What? Come on, you don't look a day over eighteen!"

"I'm nineteen," she lied. In truth, she was actually twenty-two. At least she thought she was. The years were kind of… blurry. "And eighteen isn't in your reach. Try at least sixteen." She advised with a smirk. "Bye." She said coolly ruffling his hair on the way out of the café.

Masaomi Kida sat down to where his friend was. He didn't like that smirk of her's, it reminded him of someone.


	2. Run and Pursue

The next day, Maemi walked along the crowded sideway thinking of what to do now that she had her daily coffee in her hand. She didn't feel like sitting so she had taken away.

It was a cloudy day, complete overcast yet it wouldn't rain. Like the sky was holding back its tears. It would break sooner or later as everything else did though.

The girl threw back the synthetic light chestnut hair that was previously over her shoulder. She still wasn't used to the wig's length that cut below her belly button. Maybe she should just snip at it slowly so none of her co-workers noticed. They were all in love with it which Maemi didn't understand. Of course, they didn't know it wasn't real. The wig was very convincing. And it better have been, it was expensive!

She took a sip of the white-chocolate syrup cappuccino. That café's coffee was much better than yesterday's. The girl was going to different cafés each day to decide which place she liked the most.

Maemi stared at the sheet of thick clouds as she walked. "Hmm." She hummed peacefully. Only to be disturbed by a man running at full force and screaming.

"IIIIIZAAAAAYAAAAA!" the livid man bellowed.

Shizuo Heiwajima, another of her ex-targets. Two of them, apparently, if it was Izaya Orihara he was chasing, which it indisputably was. To think Maemi would come across three in only two days.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF IKEBUKURO NOW, FLEA!" Heiwajima's voice was getting closer.

"Oh, Shizu-chan! What's the matter now?" a silky and sly voice called back at his pursuer.

Yep. Izaya Orihara. Only he would be enjoying himself when pissing off a lion of guy. Orihara slipped past the crowd while everyone hurried out of Heiwajiwa's wrath. Everyone except Maemi who was still staring at the grey sky, thinking.

Heiwajima being utterly blinded with rage was about to run straight into her. When she noticed, Maemi stepped to the side but he hit her right arm which had the cappuccino in her hand. The hot liquid spilled all over the man's bartender uniform and the girl's poor hand.

"Ow." She muttered. "That was really hot."

"This," Heiwajima rumbled as Orihara laughed from behind Maemi. "This was… THIS WAS A PRESENT FROM MY BROTHERRRRR!" his howl was riotous yet Maemi didn't hear it.

She was busy thinking if she should start running or not. And how the man in front of her was actually a good guy. It was almost comical that this was the same person as the one who said he hated violence. The poor thing could never get a break.

Her thoughts shifted to the smirking maniac laughing his ass off behind her. He was really just a sad, lonely asshole. Everyone hated him, for good reason sure. But still… Her thoughts drowned out Heiwajima's yells. Her thoughts about why she didn't kill either of them.

Maemi was just staring at the redness of her right hand unseeingly. She didn't come back to herself until she felt a threat behind her. The woman caught the flying knife between her right middle and index fingers out of habit. It wasn't aimed at her but never the less her body did it anyway. 'Oops,' she thought as the two men stared at her. She looked up to Heiwajima saying, "I tried to get out of the way, Mister but… well, you should have watched where you were going too. Maybe that way, we wouldn't have collided at all." Maemi said innocently. She flipped back the knife and walked up to Orihara who grinned in amusement though it still didn't reach his reddish-brown eyes. Maemi put the knife back in Orihara's pocket which seemed to somewhat unsettle him.

"Not so close, assassin." He hissed lightly with his upturned lips.

'He knows?' She wondered to herself. 'Makes sense. He is an information broker after all… I hate that word… "assassin".' She added as an afterthought. "Not so loud, informant." She hissed back without a trace of a smile as she backed up. He chuckled before turning to Heiwajima.

Maemi sighed as she looked at the spilled coffee on his shirt. 'What a waste of a good coffee!' Her peaceful mood had definitely been hindered.

The blonde ripped up a path rail out of the cement. His strength still amazed the female. How were the things he could do even possible?

She didn't really like when the man got like this. He was a lot more pleasant when he was all chilled. "Well, that's my queue to leave." The young woman said to herself.

"What? You afraid of getting hurt?" Orihara taunted with a fox's expression.

"W-Well, of course, I am," the woman lied and started to back away. Maemi would never get into this kind of thing.

"IIIIIZAAAAYAAAA! YOU KNOW THIS CHICK!" The tall man yelled. "WHAT DO YOU PLAN ON DOING THIS TIME, FLEA?"

Smirking and not being able to miss the opportunity, Orihara pulled Maemi back and swung an arm around her. She stiffened under his touch. "Yep!" he cheered ignoring the raging man's last question. "We've known each other for about ten mouths!"

Well… it wasn't a lie. The girl had started investigating him around that amount of time ago. But they never actually talked before now.

"I DON'T GIVE A SHIIIIT!" Heiwajiwa shouted ear splittingly again though he held himself from attacking. Izaya's plan worked.

"But you're the one who asked, Shizu-chan." The raven's eyes sharpened, his lips lifting more.

Was Orihara testing how long Shizuo Heiwajima could hold back? Yep, most likely. Oh, and not to mention to see the assassin's reaction too.

Maemi chuckled a little, as she realized what he was up to. 'He'll never change.' The girl somewhat tried to lift the male's arm off but he wouldn't budge. Of course.

"Miss, get the hell away so I can KILL THE FLEA!" Heiwajima yelled holding the side railing above his head.

Orihara's smirked even wider at the blonde's conflict.

Maemi hadn't killed this asshole for a reason; she wasn't going to let someone else kill him. Nor let Orihara kill Heiwajima, that's why she put the flip blade away earlier. "I-I'm afraid I can't move, Mister," Maemi said with false fear.

"BULLSHIT!"

"You're not even trying to get away," Orihara said silkily.

"Wouldn't want to cause a scene now, would I?" She replied barely moving her lips.

"So you'd kill me if there was no one around?"

She gave a very fake sarcastic laugh while not even smiling. The sound only being, "Ha… Ha." Maemi sighed, "Oh. Here it comes." She said as the rail was flying toward them. Orihara had already retreated away leaving the woman behind. 'How rude.' She thought as she dodged the object at the last second. At least Heiwajima aimed for the left side of her where the informant previously stood.

"How rude, Shizu-chan! Throwing metal bars at a female stranger?" Orihara exclaimed mocking shock. "I know she ruined your shirt but come on. Don't be so low, Shizu-chan!"

"I didn't ruin his shirt. It was his fault." Maemi corrected with slight annoyance, she said that a little too loudly.

Orihara smirked approvingly at her.

Suddenly, she was aware of Heiwajima's anger boiling up at her now. "Whoops," Maemi said.

"Time to run, Mae-chan!" The information broker said with excitement. She let him grab her by the wrist and drag her behind him, running.

'Mae-chan?' she questioned. It was way too cute. The name, kind of, suited 'Maemi Shimizu,' but not the woman covered up.

"COME BACK HERE, FLEA!" Heiwajima bellowed still splitting the sea of people.

Orihara kept his lips in an eye reachless grin as he ran with Maemi in tow and Heiwajima in pursuit.

"You really have nothing better to do, do you?" Maemi said with a smaller smile than the dark-haired man's. She was no longer pulling Maemi Shimizu out.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Orihara said not even trying to hide his amusement.

The 'chestnut' haired girl looked back to see Heiwajima speeding towards them, "Why aren't you running at full speed? He's going to catch up."

"Well, it will be you that Shizu-chan gets first," said the red eyed male with indifference.

Maemi raised an eyebrow, "Really now?" she said in a falsely sweet voice as she ran faster so she dragged the informant behind. She chuckled a little. It felt nice to run as fast as she could. It was kind of like being free.

"You ruined my fun," Orihara said from beside her now. His 'disappointed' was lacking.

"Oh!" she exclaimed sarcastically, "Very sorry." Noticing another object flying at them she turned her seriousness back on, "Watch out for the 'give way' sign."

"I know. I know." Orihara waved off, dodging it with ease.

The chase went on for a long time before the guy dressed as a bartender finally lost track of them. Maemi wanted to go her separate ways with Orihara but no matter what he held on to her wrist. She guessed he was making his move before 'she killed him' or something like that.

In an alleyway on the streets of Ikebukuro, they were actually quite close to her house, they stood somewhat breathless. Though, both of them tried to hide it.

"So," Orihara started, "Back to finish the job are you?" he said widening his arms welcomingly. The fakeness on his face still there though most people missed it due to his craziness being distracting.

"Nope." The amber eyed woman said simply.

"'Nope'?" he repeated. "I don't believe you~" the raven head sang.

Furrowing her eyebrows slightly she looked around seeing people walk by the entrance of the alleyway. "Let's not talk about this here."

"Hmm? Where then?" he asked with that smirk.

"I'm assuming you know where I live." That had to be the reason he made her come this way.

"Now where did you get that idea from?" Orihara said in the same manner.

She shook her head with a small smile trying to live up to her current name. "Let's just go." The female started walking.

"How do I know you're not going to jump me when we get there?"

"Hmmm." She thought for a bit. "There is no way for you to know."

Despite her lack of reassurance, Orihara continued smiling and followed the young woman anyway. 'This will be interesting,' he thought with a grin etched on his face.


	3. Hospitable and Hostile

**Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara! (only Maemi Shimizu) **

Maemi timidly lead her ex-target inside her home. It was small and humble. No one would ever expect the woman to have as much money as she did. She tried to keep the place clean but it wasn't OCD like. With a few pairs of shoes that were unneeded but just built up at the door over time. Or the coat that she hadn't put in the washing machine yet laying on the couch. As well as the 'waiting to be folded' clothes still in the basket.

The floor was a dark mock-mahogany wood that creaked ever so softly when being stepped on. As if squirming uncomfortably. She made sure to keep sweeping the floors because she hated stepping in dust or whatever else that settled on the surface.

Ivory yellow walls painted most of the small house. It contained two bedrooms, though the smaller one was empty, one bathroom, one toilet, a compacted kitchen and a dining/living area. Completely normal.

All the curtains were matching with a soft-beige sort of color. Maemi pull them back so Izaya Orihara might realize she really didn't want to kill him seems the people passing outside would be able to see if she attempted anything. **And** if he tried too.

'This guy is so weird. Why would he come if he thought his life was in danger? He's strong though and a hard target to hit. Maybe he's already thought this through,' Maemi snapped away from her mind's voice. "Would you like something to drink?" she offered sweetly.

"I'd love to!" his cheer wasn't very convincing.

"Sooo… is that a 'yes' or a 'no'," the girl asked a little confused.

"It's a 'yes'." Orihara answered casually as his hand rested on the dining table, "Although if it's poisoned maybe not."

Maemi gave another dry, "Ha… Ha." She withdrew from the curtains heading for the kitchen. "Tea? Coffee? Juice?" she questioned, back to being kind.

"You know my answer already," he said smoothly hot on her heels.

She took out two plain white mugs, "Coffee it is. You like it black, right?" the brunette asked while retrieving the instant coffee. It wasn't as good as real coffee beans but it did the trick.

"Yep!"

"No sugar?" she was about to put it in instinctively but stopped at the last second.

Orihara noticed the scars that ran around her wrists, "Aha!" he agreed carelessly as if he didn't cite the marked skinned. She withdrew the sugar and placed it in her cup.

Maemi slightly stuck her tongue out in distaste, "Gross," she commented.

"Think what you like. It's good that way." The male's lips were ever still curled.

"You can take a seat, you know," she suggested and pointed her gold flaked eyes through the wall that blocked the dining area.

"Oh, why thank you," he said as he jumped up on the kitchen bench.

"I meant at the dining table," she deadpanned.

"How would I keep an eye on what you put in my coffee then?" Orihara asked 'innocently'.

"Blenches were made for glasses not for asses. Now get off." She ordered curling her lips as well. "You can watch me if you want but either way I'm not going to poison you. I'm sure you know I've never used poison before." The sweetness in her voice faded again slowly.

"Yes, indeed. You rather stab your victims in the eye then slit their throat," he said gesturing with the point of his ringed finger to his neck as he slid off the table.

"Now that's something I can't deny," Maemi mused as she poured hot water in the two cups. She gave them a stir hearing Orihara chuckle with twisted amusement. She gave him his cup and took a sip from her own. "So, I'm guessing you want me to say something about my previous occupation."

"'Previous occupation'? You think you can quit being a murderer just like that?" His gaze was cold though his lips still turned upwards. "I don't think you get it, you're just a kid at heart who never grew up, aren't you? Being this wishy-washy with killing? You really need to commit, Mae-chan." He lightly scolded her. "I get that some jobs aren't in your capabilities, such as killing Shizu-chan and me. You must have been really scared and I don't blame you."

Maemi took another sip of coffee, 'Hmm. Not enough milk.' She thought, letting Orihara taunt away.

"But then there are some humans you ran away from even though you could easily kill them. Having fear and empathy is very rare in a murderer. But eventually, you'll snap and kill in masses again. Your little killing break will end soon and you know it, don't you? Murderers will always be murderers, after all. There's no going back. It's irrefutable." He finished was a smug smirk.

"I agree with some things you're saying," she said coolly.

Orihara somewhat surprised at her mellow behavior, let out a wider smile. This one actually meeting his crimson eyes.

"A murderer will always be a murderer. Very true." The woman paused, "I'll never be able to change my past. And I'll never be able to fully escape from it. But that doesn't mean I have to kill people for the rest of my life. Unlike most 'assassins' I don't feel the urge to kill unless I'm really angry. But even then I hold it back. Anyway. I'm afraid you have read me wrong, Orihara. You see, the reason I killed was to… eliminate the bad guys." She elected her words carefully. "The men and women who didn't deserve to live. That's why I'm what you read as 'wishy-washy'. I simply decide whether or not my target should die or not. Sure, maybe I didn't have a right to do so. And it was arrogant of me to think I could but I did it anyway. And I have some fear but I never let it get in the way of a mission. So, in other words, I didn't kill you ten months ago because I came to the conclusion you didn't deserve death." The girl finished her explanation and sipped on her coffee again. "Any questions, comments?"

Izaya gazed at her, analyzing. He hummed thoughtfully and he took his first sip of the instant coffee. He savored the bitter taste in his mouth before speaking up again. Perhaps it was an excuse to think of what to say or how to word it. "You did do your research on me, right?" he almost laughed.

"Yes, I did."

"You know what I've done to a lot of humans, right? And how these actions are apparently 'socially unacceptable'?"

"Yes."

"And you know how many humans hate me because of it?"

"Hmm… A lot." How could she know the exact number?

Orihara let out a hysterical laugh that went on for an unrealistic amount of time. "…Well," he started still giggling like a maniac. "That's a first…" he broke out into laughter again.

Maemi side glanced awkwardly. Was it really that funny? Or was this just his up front? "Umm-"

The male cut her off, "You know. I can't figure you out, Jane Doe." He smiled even though he was obviously put off by this.

'Jane Doe?' she questioned in her head.

"You see, no matter how much I try. I can't find your true identity." He put his hands up in a shrug. "The best I've done is go back eighteen months, to 'Kokoro Yuto the twenty-one-year-old nobody' who went missing. The case closed because police found a twenty-one-year-old woman who looked like her, dead in Kokoro-chan's apartment with her wrists slit. The humans who examined the body had nothing to go off of. They had none of Kokoro-chan's DNA but the fingerprints in the apartment matched the body's. They even had a burial for the body! Hana Kimura was buried with her killer's current name. How messy!" Orihara ranted excitedly like he was a child explaining his favorite anime. "Your next killing was plenty simpler though. You stuck with the eyeball stabbing and throat slitting. Police think that multiple humans are behind the scenes when really it's just you. I'm right, aren't I?"

"Yep," she replied after taking another nip of not-so-milky coffee.

"So casual! You're so cold, Jane-chan." The informant continued to smile.

"So you don't know my real identity?" the woman ignored his comment.

He sighed dramatically, "No. Not yet at least. You cover your tracks well most of the time. So it's quite the challenge."

"I see, well that's good. Seems as how skilled you are at picking up other people's dirt," the young woman said blandly.

Orihara chuckled, "Make no mistake, Jane-chan. I will find out sooner or later." He brought the mug to his lips tasting the bitterness. "Hmm… It's good." He looked down into the steaming cup fondly. Too bad it was time to leave. 'What a waste of a good coffee.' He thought to himself. "Well, see ya, Jane-chan." He put the mug down and headed for the exit.

"Wait just a sec," her gentle voice was back on.

"Hmm?" the male asked twirling back to meet her amber gaze with his lips curved up.

"Umm… You're an information broker and since you know quite a bit about me we need to make a deal," the girl proposed.

"What kind of deal?"

"You can research me all you want. I don't care and nor can I stop you. However, you need to keep that information to yourself."

He peered at her with delight, "What?"

"You heard me. Anyway, if someone asks about me you will not give them any information. If they press on and their money is tempting, you tell me and I'll give you double."

"Hush money, huh?" he sneered, "You think that will work?"

"Doesn't the sound of humans wailing and crying in distress appeal to you? You're in for a heap of shits and giggles. So yes. I think it will." She smirked back at the male who instantly broke out into another laughing fit.

"Okay, Jane-chan," he agreed. "We have a deal."


	4. Turning Tables

**Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara! (only Maemi Shimizu) **

After Maemi's and Izaya's agreement, they sat uncomfortably at the dining table in silence as they sipped on now cooled coffee. It seemed they both spent a long time just sipping at it on default. The clouds had finally broken and let its tears out softly. Orihara was the first to break the ringing silence.

"You seem uncomfortable," he mentioned with a smirk.

"Well, this is a little weird don't you think?"

Chuckling at that, "What on earth are you talking?" he pretended to be clueless.

"… Why haven't you left yet?" the brunette questioned in curiosity. "Other than the rain outside," she added.

"You're quite amusing. Furthermore, it would be wasteful if I leave without finishing my beverage," Izaya leered.

"Yeah," she dragged the word awkwardly then paused tapping her finger on the lip of her mug, "Would you like for me to heat it up again? I'm going to do mine." Maemi stood as she spoke.

"Sure. Why not?" the raven head gave her his cup and didn't follow her to the kitchen this time.

"Are you testing whether I'd try to poison it?" she asked behind the wall.

He didn't answer at first then giggled, "I didn't think you'd figure that out."

Maemi smiled a little as she closed the door of the microwave with the two mugs trapped inside. "Too bad for you and your little test." She let them burn for a bit and came back to the table with them hot in each hand. The girl set Orihara's down in front of him, gave a little bow out of habit from working at the café, and sat in the only other charcoal colored chair.

All of her furniture was of this dark brown near to black shade except for the starkly white suede couch. It was quite a nice selection. Maemi had always wanted to decorate her own home and she finally did. She had the money to make it a reality, so why not indulge?

The youth took a sip which instantly burnt her tongue, "Ahh-!" she yelped a bit. "Ow," the girl muttered. "Careful, it's really hot," Maemi warned the garnet-eyed male who was chuckling at her blunder.

"Couldn't you tell by the massive amount of steam?" he pointed out cleverly still smirking like an idiot.

"Mmm~" she whined quietly, "I was… thinking."

"Yes. You seem to do that a lot of the time," Izaya stared at the woman to the point of being creepy.

Maemi stayed silent knowing it was true.

"You're not a very loquacious human, are you?" the raven noted.

She glanced up at him looking puzzled, "'Loquacious'?"

Izaya paused, "Apparently not very bright either," he teased while laughing to himself.

"Shut up. It's not my fault I didn't go to school," the woman announced irritation laced in her words.

"Why? Were you too busy killing?" he asked as if they were talking about what they had for breakfast. The mundane things in life. Though the issue was far from ordinary.

"It's a whole lot more complicated than that but if you want the short answer then yeah. Something like that."

"What's the extended response?" he asked with interest.

"You're skilled enough to find that out through research. You'll just have to be patient." A smirk slid onto her lips though it put on.

He gave her a strange stare that the girl didn't understand. Was it surprise? Genuine glee? Curiosity? Or was it frustration? Maybe, it was all of it at the same time. "You're not going to give much for free, are you Jane-chan."

"Why do you keep calling me 'Jane-chan'?" She purposefully misled the subject.

"What? You don't get it?" he asked obviously delighted.

Maemi shook her head in a 'no.'

"'Jane Doe' refers to females whose name is unknown or deliberately being secreted." Orihara did his usual flamboyant hand gestures that were unnecessary while he gave his little explanation. "It suits you rather well."

"It does," she agreed lightly.

"You won't be unknown for long though~" the reddish-brown eyed male sang.

Maemi rolled her eyes, "Yes, yes. I know."

The two stayed in silence once again, one that wasn't as awkward as the first but still… weird. For the non-loquacious girl, at least.

On the other hand, Izaya was having a blast. All he had to do to make her squirm uncomfortably was sit there sipping on damn good coffee. He chuckled yet again which brought the young woman's attention to him.

"What's so funny?" she said with that same blandness. She wasn't bothering hiding her nastiness anymore.

"Nothing at all," he replied still holding his up-turned lips in place.

"You're laughing at me, aren't you?"

He just snickered more, "Was it that conspicuous? That's a shame."

"You weren't even trying to hide it," she blew on the steaming mug and sipped cautiously.

Orihara did the same, "… Tell me. Why are you so tense?"

"Do you really need to ask that question?"

He fell silent waiting for an answer. His eyes half closed as he gazed into his cup seeing his smile reflect on the surface of the liquid.

"Come on, seriously? … I was assigned to kill you. And I was so close to doing it." Maemi paused, "Well… attempting to." She didn't really know for sure if she could win.

"What made you stop?" he questioned. The red eyes were serious but he kept that grin.

"What?"

"You said you believed I didn't deserve death. What made you think that? A lot of humans want me dead. I have to say this isn't the first time I've been hunted." He chuckled lightly looking up from his half-empty mug, "But it is the first time for a human to spare me without having to manipulate or threaten them with their dirty little secrets. It's quite fascinating, really!" he suddenly exclaimed. "It's astonishing how humans can have such diverse opinions on the same being! Humans really are remarkable! Right, right?" the male paused getting back on track, "Soooo~! The reason you didn't try to kill me. What was it?" Orihara asked again more urgently.

"Why the hell are you speaking in past tense? It's not like my opinion has changed." The woman had passed the mini test without realizing. She sighed, "And plus, I don't think you want to hear the reason," Maemi warned.

He chuckled, "If I didn't, I wouldn't be asking now, would I?" Orihara propped his elbow onto the table and rested his chin on his knuckles.

The brunette took on her serious tone, "Because you're alone."

Still plastering on that smile made him appear as though he was wearing a half-mask that people wore when they were sick. Only, his mask was decorated with lips. He forced out another chuckle though it was nowhere near as bright as the ones from before. "That's it?"

"No. But I doubt you want to hear more."

His eyes and mouth were as different as they could be, "No, go ahead," he laughed again.

"You don't want me to. So why-" she was interrupted by a dark voice.

"I said," Izaya composed himself halfway through his sentence giving the girl a put-on face, "…to 'go ahead.'"

Maemi gazed into his eyes, "You're sad. Very sad." She broke eye contact. She wouldn't have been able to say anymore if she didn't. "You know this but you pretend that you aren't. Not only to fool others but to fool yourself. And to some degree, you have. But you know deep down that you've caused this sadness on yourself by the bad things you've done. Or I should say the bad things you do. You'll never change and you don't want to. You think you can keep everyone at a distance by viewing them as tools or animals. You think this will help and protect that fragile heart of yours but really… all you've done is puncture a hole right through it."

It was the longest silence yet.

Until Izaya found the will to laugh it off. His giggle was quiet at first then it ruptured out into a crazy cackle. He gasped for breath but found himself laughing even harder.

Was it real? Did he really find it funny?

Tears from guffawing so hard, leaked from his eyes. He wiped them carelessly trying to stop the laughter.

But were though tears really because of his 'hearty' laughing? Did he really find the unknown woman's accusations that amusing? Were they even accusations? Or was it just pure fact?

Fuck no. Fuck that shit! It wasn't true! She didn't know a god damn single thing about him! 'Sad'? Did he look 'sad'? No! He smiled all the time!

'Alone'? Yeah, maybe. But who the fuck cares about that shit! He didn't!

And 'bad things'? How old was she? Twelve? He'd gladly admit that he's caused a lot of shit. And he was planning more shit! And he had fun doing it! Alright!

Viewing humans like 'tools' or 'animals'? No. No. Humans were much more than that. Sure they were fun to play around with, not to mention observing their expressions to certain… situations. But he LOVED humans! Every! Single! One!

And lastly… 'Fragile heart'? What? That was the most stupid fucking statement Izaya had ever heard in his life. You see, HUMANS had fragile hearts. Not him.

'What a fucking idiot.' Izaya thought still smiling this time making it reach his eyes. He was unaware that he didn't change his eyebrows to match causing it to look just as false.

"I told you that you didn't want to hear it," Jane Doe reminded him, though it did nothing to improve his mood.

"You think you've got me all figured out, don't you?"

"… Not really. There's still a possibility I'm reading you wrong." There was something off about the way she said it.

Was she only saying that because she thought it would make him calm down? Was she mocking him? Why did Izaya feel so angry, anyway? It didn't make sense? He never let anything get to him like this so… why? Did he already know the answer? No. He refused. It wasn't true! "Well, thanks for the coffee!" he cheered, not sounding like himself at all. "I'll be off now," the raven said his cup still half full but he stood anyway. He wanted to get the fuck out of there. "Bye, Jane-chan!" he chuckled.

She sat in her chair looking… sad? Why the fuck was **she** sad? **He** was the one-! Izaya stopped that thought.

"Wait," she implored quietly. "I'm… The main reason though is… because I saw myself in you. We're not the same or anything… but similar…" Her words were nearly inaudible but she wasn't lying this time.

He laughed again, "Well you're wrong, Jane-chan." Izaya turned and left Jane Doe's home with his hands in his pockets while skipping joyfully… on the outside.

**Miaka Hatanaka speaking! You can skip if you want my dear reader hee~ Okay so... umm... I'm sorry if you think Izaya is OOC hehe. It's really hard to understand his f***ed up mind but I'm trying. Tell me what you think in a review, and how I can improve! If you're bothered to do so hahaha! Bye-bye!**


	5. A Sleepless Night

**Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara! (only Maemi/Jane, Hana, and Yuuma) **

**Author speaking! Umm... Do I have to say that for every chapter? (upwards) Anyway! Just a warning, this chapter has violent themes, as well as rape. It's not detailed or graphic but it's still there. **

Izaya was having a hard time sleeping, too occupied deliberating his interaction with Jane Doe. That woman was the definition of unknown. The male had spent the rest of his day attempting to discover her original identity. But all he could find was the same information he had already encountered during the last ten or so months.

He had found many killings where the victims' right eye was ripped out and their throats' cut clean. **Many** were like that. Going back nine years ago from what Izaya uncovered. But he couldn't find the connections on, who Jane Doe was at those times, how she got close enough to commit the deed, nor if she was even there to begin with. But she had to have been. Somehow.

On a better note, the crimson-eyed male knew **why** she did it.

'You see, the reason I killed was to… eliminate the bad guys. The men and women who didn't deserve to live.'

And the 'ex-assassin' was true to her words. With the assessable information, all the humans she murdered were indeed not very… nice.

Don't get him wrong! No matter how disgusting they were, he still loved them. In fact, that's what made them so interesting!

Anyway! Hana Kimura, for example, the woman who wasn't even buried under her real name, murdered her family at the age of sixteen. The Kimura family consisted of four daughters, a baby boy, and a mother and father. Hana-chan was the eldest entrusted with taking care of her younger siblings since her parents were busy with work. Have to say, it sounded very normal. So why did she do it? Why did she kill them? Izaya's guess was that Hana-chan felt like her parents didn't care about her. She had her studies, friends, boyfriend perhaps; her own life. But instead, she had to dedicate that precious life to other beings. Child after child, she broke even more until… POP! Breaking her sisters' necks was as effortless as picking a flower. Suffocating her baby brother in his cot was easier than trying to make him fall asleep. Smashing her father's head with a meat tenderizer mallet was the sweetest feeling. It was like breaking open a watermelon on a hot summer's day at the beach, not that she had ever experienced that. And finally burning her mother to a crisp made the house smell of delicious barbeque. Hana Kimura then took on a fake identity. She thought she had, literally, burnt her tracks well by killing a bystander in place for Hana's body, burning the passerby and the house to ashes. Hana-chan probably thought it didn't matter, but police and Izaya Orihara knew better. After, Hana Kimura or Machiko Hatsume kept killing her 'loved ones'. She obviously had developed some sort of affection and attention issues. She would get close to male and females then kill them because of the few screws that she had loose. Until the fateful day she, herself was murdered by her prey, Kokoro Yuto/Shoko Rikiishi/Maemi Shimizu/Jane Doe.

Jane had obviously set herself up as bait and Hana-chan instantly bit firm. She was literally a fish. Kokoro-chan was the worm and Jane-chan was the fisherman. This story was easier to track down since it took Jane-chan a long time to make her move, hesitating to reel in the prize. Perhaps Jane felt sorry for the woman which made the killing sloppy and dissimilar to the assassinations she generally performed.

On the other hand, there was one man, Yuuma Adachihara, 47 years old, a drug dealer who scammed as many folks as he could so then he'd acquire his own much-needed fix as well. Adachihara also purchased girls of the ages seven to fourteen, "The younger the better," is what he said apparently. But what he really meant was, "The younger they are, the longer I can keep them locked up and fuck them whenever I want." Adachihara then murdered the girls when they had the ability to fall pregnant. Jane-chan really made a mess of him. Evidently, there was no hesitation. By the time she was done torturing him, he was barely recognizable. But Izaya wasn't even sure if it was her or not. He'd better save the dirty details for another time when he figured the whole thing out.

All of Jane Doe's murders were running through his head. How many did she kill? Izaya didn't even know half of them. Hell! He probably didn't even know a quarter! Did Jane-chan really change her identity with each homicide? That's what it looked like so far. Even when she decided to not kill her target she changed her name, age, even gender on some occasions.

What screwed the informant over most of the time were the skips. No murder. No lead. It was like she jumped off the edge of the earth. Not that there was an edge. It took him so long to find Maemi Shimizu and he probably wouldn't have found her if she wasn't in Ikebukuro. It annoyed the hell out of him. Not to mention the shit that she said.

Izaya checked the time, 3:48 am. He always had a dilemma attempting to sleep but this was ridiculous. He would have to get up in around three hours. The male sighed then chuckled lightly. He pounced up from his bed. If he wasn't able to sleep, then there wasn't much point wasting time in forcing himself to.

But what could he even do at this hour? He logged onto the chat room with 'Tarou Tanaka' and 'Setton'. They weren't on, obviously. Izaya leaned back in his chair gazing at the high ceiling.

The unknown woman's voice came back to him. 'Because you're alone.'

'Shut up.'

'You're sad. Very sad.'

_'_Wrong.'

'You know this but you pretend that you aren't. Not only to fool others but to fool yourself.'

'…'

'… You've caused this sadness on yourself…You'll never change and you don't want to. You think you can keep everyone at a distance… that fragile heart of yours… all you've done is puncture a hole right through it.'

'… … …' Izaya smiled yet again and chuckled. His laugh turning wild like before. He placed his right foot up on the edge of his business chair still laughing hysterically. He connected his knee and elbow then ran his hand through his black hair. His laughing ceased gradually, his breath was shaky. Izaya was suddenly aware of how his throat hurt like he was choking on some kind of hot ball. Aware of the burning that spread to his closed eyes. Aware of shortness of his breaths and the slight uncontrollable shaking. Izaya laughed at the pathetic scene that was taking place. Crying was such a human thing to do. He hadn't done so in so long until now. 'Damn it!' he cursed himself. No! He wasn't weeping. he wasn't weak like that!

The male used the sleeve of his v-neck shirt to dry away the fucking wetness still suppressed in his eyes. He loathed the way Jane Doe read him like a book when he didn't understand a god damn thing about her.

Did she really quit killing? Or was she a fucking psychopath? And what were those scars from? How did she become an assassin? Did she enjoy it? If she didn't 'feel the urge to kill' then why did she start and why did she do it for so long?

No. Izaya couldn't even ask that question. After all, there was no proof that the eye stabbings were all her. She admitted to it but she could be lying or more likely unaware of the other murders. Nine years.

How old was she? It was so hard to tell with all the makeup and that god awful wig. If she was killing for nine years and she only looked nineteen, she would have to have been ten years old for her first kill. Sure there were some fucked up humans out there but… no.

'Maemi Shimizu' was nineteen. So it only made sense for Jane Doe to make herself appear that young. All of her identities that Izaya knew were recent, one year and a half. They ranged from fifteen to twenty-five years of age, however, that included the male teens she played as. With only the women, the minimum was eighteen. Age them up one year and you got nineteen to twenty-six. She'd have to be in middle somewhere. Was it twenty-two or twenty-three? Either way, it didn't make her much older. Thirteen, fourteen, what was the difference?

Thinking about all these young ages, Izaya couldn't help but recall his own. What a boring lifestyle he had. Being an honor student was certainly the worst stage of his life. He had no idea why he tried so fucking hard in his early school years. It's not like anyone cared. His parents always fucked off someplace abroad. It didn't matter if he aced every exam, every assignment, or every stupid fucking sport. It didn't matter. It was all wasted effort. He let himself get stressed out for nothing.

Izaya always spent his lunch breaks in the library and read shitty books; one of the reasons being to avoid the question, "Where's your lunch?" or "Aren't you eating?" The nannies were all useless and uninteresting women which he usually expressed to their faces. Izaya mostly forgot to pack lunch, old habits die hard. Although, when his younger sisters were shoved into the family portrait things had to change. Since Izaya was apparently old enough to look after the two spastic girls at twelve, he had no choice but to feed them and it was about time he fed himself. Of course, a nanny was always present when the boy was at school but those sour women always left straight away and came as late as possible. Perhaps they didn't appreciate Izaya's cheek and the twin's hyper and attention-seeking nature.

That was when the raven stopped trying so hard for his education that would, in his opinion, ultimately get him nowhere. Soon after, life started getting interesting. It wasn't normal. It was no longer uneventful. Especially that time Nakura tried to stab him! That was entertaining… and just a teensy bit scary when Shinra the idiot threw himself between the two boys.

'Uhh… that idiot…' Izaya drawled inside his mind, disgusted. 'Wait a second. Nakura tried to kill me when we only in middle school. Hmm… Maybe twenty-two and twenty-three aren't too off the mark,' the male thought, trying to get back on track with the mysterious woman.

It was so strange for Izaya to have to guess information because normally it would be at the reach of his fingertips. So easily obtained. But with her… nothing was easy. In a way, it was kind of fun even though it was frustrating. The slanty eyed male couldn't help but research more about the unknown woman.

For hours, Izaya sat at his computers reading and re-reading everything he learned. Fuck! Some of the things, he speculated, she did were really fucked up. But why? Why did she make only some of her victims suffer before they died? Was it… personal? That's what it seemed to be.

Izaya felt a smirk rise upon his lips, an entertaining idea boiling up in his mind.

**Author again! Hello~ Wow! There's a lot of swearing in this chapter. I did it on purpose to convey Izaya's anger that he was trying to suppress but maybe I went too far... or maybe not... I don't know. Well, I hope you enjoyed and see you next week! Bye-bye!**


	6. Utter Retribution

**I don't own Durarara! (only Maemi/Jane and Yuuma Adachihara)**

At the chime of a doorbell and tune-filled knock, Maemi awoke. She had difficulty sleeping like usual but this time it was as a result of regret. The woman could only imagine the dark shades encircling her bloodshot eyeballs. She really shouldn't have said all those things to Orihara. It was quite cruel. Sure, he'd do it without a second thought – probably not even a first – but he didn't know any better. That raven had no idea what was socially acceptable and what wasn't. Well, he kind of knew but he certainly didn't understand. But Maemi did. She was aware and understood what was right from wrong but she ignored it at that moment. What an idiot she was being!

Maemi soundlessly swayed to the door while stuffing her real dark chocolate colored hair into a wig cap. When she peeked through the peephole in the front door, as she expected, it was her upset guest from yesterday; though he looked anything but upset at the moment.

She placed the light chestnut locks over her head opening the door after. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes before she gazed straight at the male.

"Hello, Mae-chan!" he pleasantly greeted.

"Hello, Orihara," she tried to keep in a yawn. "Did you want to come in?" The double dose of oxygen hit her despite attempting to close her gaping mouth while pressing her palm to block the not so pleasant view.

Izaya paused in silence before he chuckled lightly. _'I didn't expect an invitation,'_ he thought with amusement. "Yes, I would," he replied with a fox-like grin.

Maemi stood out of the way and Izaya stepped through the threshold of her home. She gently closed the door, "Umm…" this was her chance, "I'm sorry about yesterday. I didn't and don't have the right to say any of that stuff. If you're here for revenge then go ahead," she urged lightly.

Izaya gazed at her only slightly noticing the lack of makeup, too distracted on what she said. The ex-assassin knew what he was there for and yet she still invited him in? This girl was so strange. But… since he was here he may as well continue. "Tell me, Jane-chan. Ever heard of a man named Yuuma Adachihara?" Izaya questioned as he strode to the dining table like he was at home.

"Oh, here it comes," she grimly thought out loud following him. "Yes, I have."

"He suffered a great deal before he died." That male made himself comfortable in the chair he was placed in the day before.

"Yes, I know."

The crimson eyes narrowed as his classic smirk slipped over his lips, "How?"

"I bet you're dying to say it so I'll let you have the honors." Maemi tried so hard to keep herself from reacting knowing it would only encourage his brutality. Just the name of that old sleazy geezer was enough to make her blood boil.

Izaya saw how the woman's hands had become rigid, only just stopping herself from balling them into fists. "Did you kill him?" he spoke with such a conversational tone and yet it struck Maemi like a dagger.

Trying to sound calm, "Yes," she answered.

"Did you torture him?"

"Yes."

Izaya's grin widened, "Did you enjoy it?"

"… No… Yes. I don't know."

"Did you enjoy it?" he repeated lightly.

Maemi sat down before she answered, "… Yes." The woman's whisper was barely anything at all.

Her company just gazed half-lidded at her every flinch, hesitation, swallow, the slight quiver of her bottom lip and the way she avoided his eyes. It was all too good. The only thing that ruined it was that she gave Izaya permission. "You made quite the mess. Blood was everywhere when his body was found. Did you…" he chuckled slightly before continuing, "No, this isn't a question. You had something personal against him."

"Your statement is somewhat wrong." Her voice was dark and menacing.

He raised his eyebrows causing his lids to open a little more.

Now, she looked straight into Izaya's eyes, "I **have** something personal against him. Not had. Even if he's dead, I still fucking hate him," the unknown woman spat the loath-filled words as if aiming the saliva at Adachhara's grave; if he had one that is.

"You got your revenge though, didn't you?" Izaya pondered aloud. Jane-chan's face was blank, void of any emotion. Even so, the atmosphere of the house had changed dramatically. Her negative, dark aura suffocated and tainted the air around them. If Izaya was anyone else, he would've had difficulty breathing from all the corruption that was melting off the woman.

"No," she finally replied, "It wasn't an act of vengeance, at least not for me. He just got what he deserved."

The male beamed ever so widely, "So… Adachihara deserved to have his manhood-

"His dick cut off," she finished forebodingly.

"No, no. You're forgetting important details!" He cheered making Maemi stay silent. The only sound she made being a gulp. "Adachihara deserved to have his manhood," Izaya started again, "… hammered with three inch long nails. There were twenty-four nails in total; six going down on the left, right, top and bottom sides. It was quite the horrendous sight… He deserved to then have his member dismembered. And to ensure he wouldn't die of blood loss, you burnt his fresh wound, cauterizing the base of his unattached penis. And so the fucker couldn't fall unconscious from all the pain, you injected Epinephrine which creates adrenaline. Oh! I forgot! You also chained him to the exact place where he raped – what he called – 'his possessions'. Anyway!" He continued excitedly, "Now that you had his mutilated dick in your hand, you decided that it wasn't enough. He deserved something more. So you forced his maimed manhood, with the nails sticking out, into his asshole. You rammed it in many times by the way his ass was cut to shred on the inside. I bet he was screaming a whole lot. Is that why you cut out his voice box?" Izaya didn't expect her to answer.

"Yes. He didn't deserve to scream." Jane Doe's face was still so unreadable, kind of hollow. And yet they were both choking on the heavy, hot air.

The male continued, "You also stabbed out his right eye, of course; as well as the popular removing fingernails technique however after you also decided to cut his fingers off. But no, no, no. Not one whole finger at a time. You cut to the first knuckle, then the second and finally to his palm with each finger. Except, his thumbs since there's only one knuckle. But after all that… you didn't kill him. You waited until he bled out from his throat, eye, finger stumped and ass."

"Wrong." She paused, "I ran out of time. I had to go before his buddies came. I would have cleaned up my mess if otherwise. I would have made it look like it never happened at all." Maemi gave her eyes to Izaya again, "I hate having limited time… Did you come across any other incidents like that one? Because I can tell you with certainty that that wasn't the f-first time I did that to someone." The girl tried to keep up her brave face but it cracked ever so slightly, "I-I get that it makes me…" her voice quivered, "Damn it!" Maemi cursed softly and cleared her throat, "… that it makes me a monster b-but… fuck!" her glassy eyes were reflecting the lights around her. The muddy air was dissipating, clearing. It was like Jane-chan was no longer able cast it off, now intaking it all back inside her. It was too much. She couldn't contain it. She took in a shaky breath as she wiped a tear away and laughed, "After all I've done to those people, I don't deserve to cry and yet I'm doing it anyway."

Izaya giggled, "You're not a monster," he said it so simply like it had no weight to it at all. "You're as human as ever."

She gave a huff of light chuckles, "I don't think that's a compliment."

"Well… Not really! But~! I love humans! So in a way it is."

Maemi smiled weakly, "I'm still fucked up though."

"I agree," the raven grinned brightly as he still watched the woman.

She dried away the salty liquid from her cheeks, reddening them faintly, "You're fucked up too though."

"What!? No way. I am an absolutely normal citizen." He held up his hand in a vow, though his fingers were crossed behind his back.

The girl chuckled shortly, "Yes, a mundane guy who stabbed another guy in middle school." She was trying to change the subject and distract herself.

Izaya laughed, "You know about that?" he asked in a false unbelieving manner.

"Yes, it's in police record. But…"

"But what?"

"Hmm… It doesn't sound like you. I was kind of wondering if you were set up or something. Then again you're the one who does the 'setting up'."

"Why do you think that?" he asked curiously.

She gave a fake giggle, "Because you set people up all the-

"That's not what I meant. Why do you think I wouldn't stab someone?"

Maemi thought for a moment, "Well… I guess you would stab Shizuo Heiwajima if you really wanted to but it wouldn't really affect him very much. Other than that, you'd get someone else to do it however I think you'd need a good reason to do so. Which is why I believe you wouldn't just stab a random."

"He wasn't a random," Izaya smirked.

"Umm… are you pointing to the fact that Kishitani's father is an underground doctor?" she questioned.

"You know about Shingen?"

"Yes," the girl nodded, "He has patched me up a couple of times."

"Ah," Izaya said simply. "But, no. That's not what I meant."

"Okay… then what did he do?"

"He forced me to join his little club and the pervert kept talking about this girl I had never met, until years later."

"So he was your friend."

"I never said that."

"Wow! I did not expect that. You **do** have friends!" she cheered still trying to force away her true emotions but it felt like it was building up; filling her entire body with something like acid.

"That pervert isn't a friend," Izaya was getting impatient though, like usual, he kept on smiling.

"You didn't stab him, did you?" she already knew the truth.

"Of course I did."

"No, you didn't."

"I did."

"Nope."

"Yes."

She chuckled lightly, "Would you like a coffee?"

Izaya stayed silent for only a second, "I'd love one, Jane-chan."

"Okay." Maemi swiftly stood and strode to the kitchen. She couldn't hold her mask up anymore. The young woman let out the tears she tried to conceal. They fell from her amber eyes like beads of lava. Slow and burning. As if they were punishing her for holding them back, for not letting them free sooner.

Izaya sat silently hearing the clatter in the kitchen. Jane-chan was most likely doing it on purpose so he wouldn't hear her sobs. But it was just too obvious. _'So human,' _he thought.

When she came back with the two steaming mugs in her hands and her wig's hair in her red face, she said again, "Oh. And you didn't stab your friend."

Izaya chuckled, "Okay, okay. I give up. You're right. I didn't stab him." He paused gazing into the contents of the mug. "You didn't poison this, right?"

She laughed; it was almost believable, "No, I didn't. I'll prove it." She took his coffee cup and sipped. The unknown girl slightly stuck her tongue out in distaste, "Bitter," she muttered. "See? I'm not dead."

"It was a joke, Jane-chan. You didn't have to prove anything." Izaya grinned in amusement. It was amazing how she could just slip on her mask again after a breakdown. The male reached over to her cup and sipped it. It was sickeningly sweet and overly milky. Izaya made the same expression as her in disgust. "Gross."

She gazed at him in amused curiosity, "Why did you do that?"

"Hmm?" he asked, "Do what?"

Maemi rested her cheek on her palm, elbow resting on the table. "You're a strange one, Izaya Orihara."

Izaya chuckled, "And you're an interesting human… Jane Doe." He hated how he couldn't name her. But sooner or later, he will know.


	7. Unexpected

**Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara! (Only Maemi/Jane) **

When Izaya got home that afternoon, once again he delved into researching Jane Doe. She let slip she had done the same torture tactics to others; which he already assumed but until now he didn't have to mark it as 'not in character' because apparently it certainly was. And Jane-chan admitted that what she hated about him was how he raped young females.

Izaya knew the only way to discover who Jane Doe was, was to find out her victims. Although, most of the time, her assassinations were non-existent in police files as murders. 'Missing people' however, was a great place to start. Then again there were just so many. The only details that separated Jane's killings were that the humans 'missing' had to be even larger piles of trash than what humans normally were, and be 'missing' from one-and-a-half to nine years ago. Izaya knew that murderers usually didn't pick up the habit of stabbing their victims in the eye out of nowhere. And since Jane-chan seemed so intent on doing it most of the time, there was no argument that her very first victim had the same wound. And the eye mutilating no doubt started nine years ago.

That meant Izaya had to find out every missing person's dirty secrets from all the way back to nearly a decade ago. As well as the unsolved murder mysteries' victims backstory. He'd have no choice but to research from two years ago to three, four, and so on. Perhaps, he could skip a few months but he needed the timeline to add to the clues and make it come together in a sensical manner. Not to mention the male was curious how many people Jane-chan assassinated.

After each person fit the criteria, Izaya had to learn whether Mystery Girl was behind it or not. That would be the difficult part. But her tiny slip-ups in conversing will come in handy.

He had a lot of work ahead of him just for one human… but it was interesting enough. How can the girl **seem** so normal and boring after murdering so many people? She averaged, so far, two humans a month, excluding her five months break. Two hundred and sixteen people, if her killings went back to nine years and if the rate didn't change.

Izaya was practically falling asleep in his chair at eight o'clock pm. Not having even a wink of sleep the previous night didn't help the overly boring article about some fifty-year-old woman who was found in a lake. Not Jane-chan's work, for sure, but the elder was a child molester; not that the journalist who wrote the article knew.

The raven head sighed, "I'm bored," he said to himself. _'Hmmmm… and hungry.'_ Izaya thought. He was too busy intaking all the information that could possibly be related to Jane-chan that he forgot to eat. _'Whoops.'_

Maemi, on the other hand, was enjoying her home-cooked meal. She wasn't the best cook at first but with the free time she had, it enabled her to improve her skills in the kitchen. Cutting the vegetables and meat was easy for the woman from the start because of… well… let's just say she sliced and diced other things giving her practice in that department. Obviously.

But understanding which spices go well together to make interesting and new flavors didn't come naturally to her. At least now the girl was getting the hang of it. She found that she mainly liked sweet things but who didn't… Oh right, Izaya Orihara, for some unknown god damn reason.

She had the afternoon to close shift this week at the café and most likely it will stay that way. At least Maemi hoped it would. She did not have a great time waking up early when the girl would always be going to bed late. Well, she went to bed at a normal time but didn't fall asleep until late. Sleeping was always hard for her.

But tonight was an absolute disaster. After that conversation with Izaya, her thoughts and memories kept her awake for hours.

She wondered if this was what Izaya went through the other night thanks to her harsh words. Maemi completely spilled his secrets out all over the table. She exposed him with no right whatsoever. But she kind of wanted to know what he'd do. And the girl made him cry! What the hell! Sure, he played it off like he thought it was funny but Maemi knew better. So did he.

Did he know what she was really doing in the kitchen? If he did why did he ignore it? What did he have to gain from that? Did he feel like he already said enough? Maybe he was leaving it for another time.

Was that nicer or crueler?

Soon it was time to wake up for Izaya, he had many dealings today that he had no choice but to attend to. _'Shiki-san can really be the bother, sometimes.'_ Izaya thought lightly as he yawned loudly. _'I wonder what Jane-chan's doing today.'_

When Maemi had finished her shift at the café, the sun was setting. Letting the city lights take control, it made the streets nearly just as bright as day time. The girl wished the whole city would have a blackout, not now when she was walking home but just some time when she was all cozy in bed. All of the light pollution blocked out every single star, which was really a shame. Shooting-star counting was one of her favorite things for the night. But her absolute favorite was watching lightning. It was just so beautiful. And with the storms the weatherman predicted for tomorrow, it looked like she was in luck.

If you're wondering why she was working so late it's because this certain café was the 'favorite' of Ikebukuro. Since it appealed to many different types of groups, this only made sense. The boss didn't kick out gang members, as long as they paid. The girls who worked there were all very polite. There were no strict rules with changing the meals on the menu, in truth, it was mainly just guidelines. There were electric sockets for laptops in each booth if customers wanted it, free of charge. It was close to a high school which brought in a rush of students when school hours died, or the truants looking either nervous or fed up with school. The normal, really. However, its coffee was what made it number one. The coffee bean blend was smooth all the way through to when it first touched one's lips to the deep pit of the stomach. It was almost sweet in its own way. Bitter and sweet if you will. There were never any spillages from the barista or the waitresses. The mugs and saucers had quite the charm with its slightly decorated sides. And the cappuccino and latte art was always a must adding to the appeal. The customers' demand for long opening open was easily obeyed.

But enough about where Maemi Shimizu worked part-time. There were much more important things like the way the Black Rider zoomed silently through the city of Ikebukuro. And how the normal citizens ran and crowded around the corner just to see a glimpse of him or her.

The biker was always so fast, Maemi or everyone never got to get a good look. The young woman somewhat wondered if the rumors were true. Did the Black Rider really have no head? And if so who cut it off? And why is the body still moving around on its own? And… was it a guy or a chick? Because from what Maemi saw, which was very little, the figure resembled a female with curves that probably exceeded Maemi's.

She wasn't very proud in having her boobs not be as big as she hoped they'd be but… it did come in handy for playing young girls… and guys. Though, she'd still have to wear a chest binder for a male role. The multiple-named woman wanted to say that she was a C-cup but… well… what does 'but' start with? Yeah. At least it didn't start with 'a', right? … Okay, **sometimes **she fitted into an A-cup. **Sometimes. **

When Maemi finally closed the front door to her home, she instantly took that god awful wig and wig cap off releasing and revealing her short straight dark chocolate hair. She tousled it lightly into a more comfortable position with it flowing freely. 'Time to become-

A voice chimed interrupting the unknown woman's thoughts, "So that's what-

She immediately grabbed for her knife, fluidly moving her body to throw it until she saw the face that belonged to the sudden voice. She let out a shaky breath, "Don't!" she lowered her voice, "… do that." The girl pulled back her hair massaging her scalp with her free hand. Inhaling deeply she tried calming her fastened heartbeat. Maemi connected her eyes with red ones. "I could've… Are you a fucking moron?" she exclaimed. She flipped back the blade and put it back in her inside pocket.

Izaya just chuckled, "Still have the instincts of a killer, I see."

The young woman clenched her teeth together, "'Once a murderer, always a murderer.' Am I right?" she said trying to hide her spite.

**Author speaking! Umm... Not the most interesting chapter... especially compared to last week's but that's why I made it short hee~ Well, shorter than my already short chapters... **


	8. Mask Off

**Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara! (only Maemi)**

_"Still have the instincts of a killer, I see."_

_The young woman clenched her teeth together, "'Once a murderer, always a murderer.' Am I right?" she said trying to hide her spite._

Izaya beamed though he easily spotted Jane's malice. Slowly making his way to the unknown woman, he spoke after a moment of silence, "Before you violently and rudely interrupted me, I was saying…" he stopped in front of her with that damned smirk, "So that's what your real hair looks like."

Maemi didn't at all appreciate the proximity the male had created, "Did you pick the lock to my door?" the woman's cold tones were enough to bring about a snow blizzard.

"I would never," Izaya put on mock-appall pressing a hand to his chest. "I used a copy of your key," he grinned as if there was nothing wrong with his actions.

"What?" her voice was low. Maybe she should have kept out the knife.

"Hope you don't mind. You see, yesterday I stole your spare key," Izaya said innocently wanting to know how the secret crazy chick would react.

Feeling her fury slowly dissipate, Maemi let a tiny smile creep onto her lips. For a second she thought he **made** a key, obviously not. And stole? The smallest laugh left the woman's mouth. "I don't have I spare key, Izaya," she told him smugly. Grinning silently for a moment, Izaya was about to speak up when the girl 'rudely' interrupted again. "Well, I did until I lost my first key. So my spare became my everyday use," Maemi explained recalling the second week of owning her first house. It was different for her having such mundane responsibilities that apparently she was bad at being normal.

Izaya brushed off most of her words, being stuck on one particular. "You called me by my first name," the male grinned with his eyebrows raised.

Maemi thought back, _'Oh. I did,' _the woman realized. She walked past him to the dining table and sat down needing to rest her legs, "Well, you call me 'Mae-chan' and 'Jane-chan' so-

"They aren't your name, though." His smile somewhat depleted. Izaya was extremely annoyed at the abundant amount of research he'd have to do just for this girl sitting in front of him.

"U-Ummm. Well… have you found anything?" she asked awkwardly.

"Some things, yes. Others, no." Orihara took a seat too, still holding his grin in place. He remembered the boring article, and one 'missing' human who could potentially be one of Jane Doe's victims seems as though he was an abusive druggy. So dull. When could he find something like Adachihara's case again?

Maemi was confused but that didn't really matter to her right now. "Wait a second. Back up. So… You did pick the lock to my house."

"Damn!" he exclaimed in fake disappointment, "I thought I got away with that one for a moment there." The male lifted his shoulders then released them after a bit leaning back in his chair.

Maemi sighed, she could've facepalmed herself from the male's social unawareness. "Just next time, can you not scare me like that. I could've hurt you."

_'"__Next time"?'_ the raven questioned in his head but dismissed it. "What?" he asked in a teasing voice, "You care about me or something?" Orihara continued infuriatingly.

The girl didn't know how to answer that, "Sh-Shut up," she whined in annoyance. His teasing manner instantly disappeared as he eyed her at a loss of words, for once. "Don't look at me like I have a fourth head growing from my third," she said calmly. "Izay- Orihara, come on. You know how humans work… It shouldn't be that surprising; you're the only one I reveal myself to. I ahh…" the woman struggled.

The raven head chuckled a little, "I never said you couldn't call me 'Izaya'."

"Oh. Umm… okay," she said shortly regretting saying anything at all.

"And… I have to disagree with your statement," he critiqued. "You do not 'reveal yourself' to me," Izaya said wagging his index finger, "Tut, tut, Jane-chan."

Maemi blinked, "Dude, I've let you see me without makeup and without my wig," she pointed to her head of messy hair. "I've let you into my home two times, not including now because you broke in and let me remind you, I haven't kicked you out. And I have admitted to… the killing and torturing stuff," she mumbled that last part feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Ahh. Yes," he spoke smoothly. "Buut~" Izaya sang, "Yesterday, you…" Should he say it? What would she do? How would she feel? The male just simply had to know. "You ran to the kitchen to let out certain… emotions. Sadness, being one of them," he purred.

Maemi clicked her tongue, "I knew it. You did know."

"I know a lot of things," Izaya smirked smugly.

She gave an obviously annoyed laugh, "Yeah. My real name not being one of them." Maemi took a stab to his ego smiling broadly in the process.

The male's laugh was a little more believable than her's… but it still wasn't real, "See? You're still holding up that mask."

"… Fine," Maemi folded her face into an angry glare. Is this was he wanted? Did he wish to witness the woman's rage and hatred for this world? The hatred for the humans he so-called 'loved'. Did this idiot have any idea how much negative energy she withheld inside? Well… tried to hold inside. "Happy?" she asked her voice was cold and low like before.

Izaya gazed at her. She slouched in her chair with golden eyes flashing dangerously. "Hmm… No, I can't say I am." He chuckled. But in truth, he rather enjoyed her ugliness.

"Why don't you take your mask off too?" she demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Jane-chan," Izaya cast off lightly.

The unknown woman narrowed her eyes, "Then let me ask you this. Why did you run away the first time you were here?"

"I had business to take care of. I was in Ikebukuro for a reason, you know," Izaya smirked naturally. Annoying Shizu-chan for fun wasn't business but~ oh well.

"Oh yeah? So, what? You had 'errands' to run yesterday, the day before and today?" she listed with irony.

"I'm busy. What can I say?" his smirk never wavered but he could tell where this was going.

"Yeah," she cooed as the raven would. "Sooo busy, sitting here and talking to me." She raised her eyebrows promptly and waited a short time, "Are you going to tell me another lie or are you finally going to answer my question?"

"Oh Jane-chan, you can be such a pain sometimes." Izaya pouted exaggeratedly. "Actually, most of the time," he added grinning.

"You were angry and you hid it," the girl answered for him getting too impatient. "What is wrong with being… what that was yesterday and hiding it from you? What's the difference?" Maemi's voice was rising with each word as if boiling up.

Izaya found a window to escape from, "Why can't you say you were sad?" He cocked his head, steering the conversation away from himself.

"Because I wasn't sad!" she yelled, "I don't have **any** remorse for that fucking rapist! I don't regret it in any way! And I'm **glad** he's dead!" She didn't remember standing at any point but Maemi found herself leaning over the table to get right in Izaya's face. She quickly pulled away, "I… I don't even know why I cried like that." Maemi lied.

"I think I do~" Izaya sang out in the room that seemed to be so silent after the woman's outburst. "You might not want to hear it though."

"Then don't tell me," she spat slumping back in her chair.

"Jane-chan~ you were meant to suddenly become eager," Izaya said with fake annoyance that covered his honest displeasure. After all, when she warned him of this his interest instantly skyrocketed. "I'll tell you anyway," he chirped. "The reason why you broke down was that you didn't want to be the person to… bring justice upon Adachihara, in the first. But you forced yourself to 'cause you believed no one else would." He gazed at her wondering what she'd do next. The woman never seemed to deal with the truth very well.

Maemi was shocked as she stared into his heavy-lidded eyes. He was completely right. "I… I thought you wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Izaya chuckled, "Why would you think that?"

Her gaze slowly dropped to her hands placed on her lap, "It's a complicated situation."

"To say the least," he grinned. The pair had sat in silence, Izaya still gazing at her in amusement. Not to mention, relieved he had successfully dodged her attacks on him.

Now that she had calmed herself down, the woman was finding her outburst embarrassing. Maemi was already regretting it. She really shouldn't have done that! Looking at the clock hanging on the wall, "D-Do you want some dinner?" she offered awkwardly.

The raven blinked somewhat puzzled, "Eh?"

She squirmed in her seat, "Well, I would offer a coffee but it's late, I'm hungry and I feel bad for yelling at you," she admitted. It wasn't his fault that Adachihara was a complete waste of space. "I'm going to cook anyway so… Do you want me to cook for you too?" Maemi couldn't even bring herself to look at him. That had to change. "And don't you dare make a joke got to do with poison," she grunted bravely glancing up only to shift her eyes away again.

Izaya decided to play along, "You know me too well, Jane-chan."

"And so do you for me," she said shortly. _'Way too much,'_ "Is that a 'yes'?"

The male chuckled, "Sure," Izaya nodded. The only reason to agreeing was thanks to his stupid habit to forget to eat. This was the first time someone was cooking for him since he was a kid. Oh! Except for that time he made Mairu and Kururi angry, they put thumbtacks in the cupcakes they made for him to 'make up'. He knew right from the start the twins were acting suspicious so thankfully his mouth and throat weren't cut to shreds. Izaya wasn't one to like sweets very much but they actually tasted pretty good.

"Okay. That's decided then. I'm going to get changed and wash this damn makeup off," Maemi muttered to herself. "Stay here. I'll be back."

"Aye, aye," Izaya made a lazy waving of a solute.

"You can turn on the TV if you want!" she called from the bathroom doing her best to act normal.

Izaya didn't want to explain his opinion about television through a wall. It would have to wait until she came back.

When the girl did, her face was clean and her dark chocolate hair was pulled back into a messy bun that slouched to the left a bit. The rich brown contrasted with the gold flakes in her almond eyes, the yellow lights exaggerating the striking color. The female no longer looked like just a girl. Her face was a lot more mature without the makeup, not in the bad way. She was without a doubt, in her early twenties rather than still being a teen. Was Izaya's guess correct? Twenty-two? Or twenty-three? If she was that means she'd be his age… Not that it mattered.

Maemi slipped on a plan ivory apron over her off the shoulder baggy sweater. She got to work, determined to make the meal tasty for this was the first time she'd cook for someone other than herself. Not to mention if it didn't taste good then it wouldn't make much as an apology.

Izaya gazed at the way her hands naturally and skillfully cut the ingredients. He saw how she wasn't afraid of the boiling hot oil that fried the battered vegetables. The alluring smell was making him impatient as the woman had small taste testers of the tempura and the broth of the udon noodle soup. Though Izaya pretended not to want a sample.


	9. Departure

**Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara! (only Maemi/Jane) **

When preparing dinner was finally complete, Maemi switched on the TV to play something random. It didn't really matter what was on. She usually had the television running just to have something in the background. To tune into whenever there was something interesting on, but most of the time there wasn't which was a shame. The stupid Rom-Coms never appealed to her taste. And especially not the action films got to do with hitmen and assassins. They were just so inaccurate. Being the real deal versus the imagination of a story writer. Well, the playwright could only go so far.

But enough about her opinions, Izaya was about to give his spiel. "Television is an utter waste of time. Why do humans enjoy watching other humans fake their emotions and remember a script? It's completely ludicrous." His hands went up in the air in a shrug as he lips curled into their usual placement. "I much prefer-

"…watching real reactions," Maemi finished as she set the bowl of udon noodle soup in front of him.

"Yes! Exactly!" he happily exclaimed, "Genuine emotions are entertainment."

"That's kind of messed up, Izaya," the brunette lightly mentioned knowing he wouldn't get it through his head even if she tried harder.

"'Messed up', you say?" the male asked. "What's wrong with observing people from a distance?"

"Hmm… to the extent you go to makes it not okay. But if you're into watching people from afar, why are you so close to me right now?" Maemi asked smugly as she finally sat down with the food in front of them.

After the tiniest moment of silence, Izaya let a small laugh out, "Heh? You need to ask that, Jane-chan? I thought you'd know. I've told you once before," he teased.

"Really now?" she asked half-heartedly interested.

"Yep!" he chirped as if he didn't hear the woman's slight apathy.

"Don't let the food get cold," she added in quickly.

"Thanks for the food!" Izaya skipped clapping his hands going straight into slurping up some udon cheerfully. _'Wow. It's scrumptious!' _he thought to himself. The male noticed the unknown woman was staring at him expectantly. "Oh. It's because you're an interesting human," he answered.

"What?" Maemi inquired in confusion.

"Hmm?" Izaya used his chopsticks to pop a tempura eggplant piece into his mouth.

"Umm. Thanks, I guess but umm… Is the food okay?" She still hadn't touched her bowl waiting for her guest's, or rather invader's, opinion.

He swallowed, "Very good, Jane-chan!" Izaya admitted cheerily to make it not… weird.

The woman beamed, "Really? That's good," she breathed in relief before picking up her chopsticks and starting to eat her fill. "I don't really know what you like food wise so I was kind of concerned."

"There's no poison, is there?" Izaya couldn't help but say it in those silky tones. However, her reaction wasn't what he expected.

She laughed gently as if not forcing it out, "Oh, shoosh. I knew you were going to say that." Maemi rolled her eyes and shook her head fondly.

"Did you?" the male kept his lips up, though her predictions of his actions somewhat annoyed him.

The woman blew on the steaming udon noodles and slurped them up unbeknown to the raven's hidden feelings. She covered her full mouth, "Eyend oph. (Kind of.)" Maemi took away her hand to take in a rather large sweet potato piece. She was soooo~ hungry!

"How pleasant," Izaya remarked sarcastically.

Chewing she side glanced awkwardly and swallowed, "Sorry, I never really… worried about etiquette at the dinner table."

Izaya let a small chuckle free, "Well for a mass-murderer that only makes sense."

"Lay off with the killing references, buddy," she sighed out and spooned the broth into her mouth. It was slightly sweet with a tang of spice. "Mmm~"

Izaya finally stopped with his teasing, lowering his gaze to the rather large bowl and ate again.

With their stomachs now full, Maemi took the – surprisingly emptied – bowls to the kitchen sink. She'd do the dishwashing tomorrow, not now. Too full~. And just her luck an action-packed hitman movie was starting on the random channel. Izaya made sure to point it out subtly but the woman easily saw his insinuation.

"Want to watch?" he asked, that damn grin still plastered on his face.

"Sure. Let's laugh at how stupid and unrealistic it is," she drawled.

Izaya found himself giving a genuine chuckle again, "Of course. What else would we watch it for?"

Maemi slumped down next to the male on the couch and hummed in agreement. The watch was just as expected. With all the back-flips and shit, just to dodge a punch? No. Just no. The 'assassin' needed to be stealthy. If they're caught, they are obviously not a very good 'assassin'. But anyway, sometimes it happens, if they're caught and have no choice but to enter in combat, he or she would need to conserve their energy. Not waste it on back-flips. You're not there to show off, you're there to kill! Or how the scenes conveniently skipped the clean up afterward. Deposing the body or bodies was always the hardest part. And blood does not shoot out like that!

The raven-haired male gazed at the woman shaking her head in disapproval. "So ridiculous," she'd say every once and awhile. Or, "What an idiot," to the main character.

Maemi noticed how the male to the left of her was laughing silently all the while eyeing her. Well, at least he was having blast, unlike the infuriated woman. She went to grab her phone to check the time needing to save her eyes from the stupidity. 10:38 p.m. "Hey, umm, how are you getting home?"

After gaining control over the epic laughing fit, Izaya asked, "Why? What's the time?"

"10:38, oh, now it's 10:39," she answered more complicatedly than necessary.

_'__What! Already?'_ he thought, "Umm… I guess I'm walking," he mused.

"Izaya, you live in Shinjuku. That's an hour on foot. I don't think so, take the train," she demanded.

"Hmm… But Jane-chan~ I don't like trains," he pouted.

Maemi blinked, a thought etching in her mind, "Does that mean you walked here and back three days in a row?" she questioned unbelievingly.

"Yep," he answered simply. The male took the train sometimes but he actually rather enjoyed walking. That way he'd run into more interesting humans!

There were a few moments of silence in Maemi's decision making. "You can sleep here if you want." Izaya raised his eyes to her golden flaked ones. "This couch is a recliner so… I'll just get some blankets for you. Besides, the movie isn't done yet." She left to go get the sheets.

_'__Stay here?'_ The thought kind of made Izaya feel uncomfortable. _'Maybe I should leave now before she comes back-'_

Maemi dumped the heavy blanket over Izaya's lap, sat down and pulled the right corner over to her as she propped up her feet onto the couch.

_'__Too late.'_ The male thought. Why was the woman so welcoming? Was it all a trick? Was she going to slit his throat in his sleep? Or did she genuinely didn't mind him sleeping over? Izaya had never slept anywhere except in his own space. Why was it that he kind of wanted to stay? The male didn't really have anything against train rides. He just said so because he thought he knew he'd be kicked out either way. But he wasn't. The unknown woman was hesitant at first, sure, but she still told him it was okay. But was it? Izaya thought of leaving for the eighth time. His crimson gaze slowly landed on Jane Doe who instantly looked back.

"What? You afraid I'd kill you in your sleep?" she joked.

He smiled in return, "At least we're on the same page."

Maemi opened her mouth and closed it again, but on deciding her words she spoke up, "Izaya, you don't have to be so closed off, you know? If this is too weird you can say so and go if you want." She said this ever so gingerly trying to not make it sound like she was throwing him out.

"I have to admit. This is a wee bit strange," he giggled, "But walking for an hour on a full stomach doesn't sound so appealing." That was true but he could still walk. She'd probably bring up the train again. The girl did want him to leave after all.

"Yeah, I agree. Not to mention, if you start now, the earliest you'll get there will be a quarter to twelve." She stood up again, "You want to get up so we can pull out the recliner?"

He didn't realize he let go of his upturned lips until he smiled again. Izaya followed her movements in removing the small coffee table and seat cushions. The woman made the bed with the blankets only for it to be ruined by both of them as they hopped back on comfortably.

It was bizarre how the woman didn't care at all that they were in the same bed. Maybe she had already experienced it but this was definitely a first for Izaya. He never really paid much attention to umm… the opposite sex in **that** way. The male didn't even see the appeal. Much less have the desire to… well… 'lust' wasn't really in his vocabulary.

Little did Izaya know, while Maemi watched the advertisements on the television – a promo for adopting pets at the shelter – she was actually hiding a mini heart-attack. The woman tried to distract her racing mind and heart with the little kittens that were especially cute. "Do you like cats?" she asked out of the blue and maybe a bit too loudly.

"Not practically, but I suppose they're better than other pets," Izaya answered gazing at her curiously.

"Hmm," she paused but it was a bad idea, for unwanted thoughts came to her mind, "I just thought you'd fall in that **cat**egory."

Izaya, blank-faced, blinked lazily.

"Bu-dum-tis!" She giggled.

It was forced out, wasn't it? "That was a really bad pun," he noted, _'Hmm… Strange,'_ the male mused. He gawked at the woman closely now; she was gripping the blankets rather tightly. _'Is she nervous, after all?'_ Izaya smirked and laid on his right side facing her directly. Staring at her, he realized she was leaving him all the room on the mattress. The unknown woman was right on the edge. "Jane-chan, you don't have to be so far away," he cooed.

"I… I'm fine." She smiled kindly though Izaya wasn't falling for it.

"What's up? Why are you nervous again?" he chuckled.

Her fake smile washed away, "… Izaya, can you… can you just not get too close?" the girl didn't want to get into her reasons.

"Hmmm?" he gazed at her more intently as he slid closer just to screw with her.

The woman's eyes hardened in shape, "Izaya, don't," she warned darkly.

"Don't what?" he asked pretending to be oblivious to her twitches and flinches.

Maemi backed away, even closer to the edge now. "Go to your side and watch the damn movie," she ordered coldly, though the TV was still playing ads.

Izaya had no intentions to actually do anything; he wasn't even going to poke her. Normally she read him so well, but she didn't see through him this time. And he loved it. "Naww~ But Jane-chan, I'm so cold, maybe we could-"

"I'll go get more blankets then." She quickly stumbled out of the recliner and made her way to the cabinet containing the bedding sheets.

Izaya could have sworn her voice trembled.


	10. Those Scars

**Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara! (only Maemi)**

At the woman's abrupt fleet, the male was left alone in the bed staring after her with wide eyes. Blinking out of his trance Izaya quietly crept out to follow the woman; the wooden floor's soft creaks trailing the weight of his feet. When he found her she was gripping the material of her sweater as if she had intense heartburn. It was too dark to see her face the light only being the TV back from the living room. By the sound of screaming and explosions in the background, it seemed the movie was back on hitting its climax.

Maemi didn't even hear it, too focused on trying to throw away her thoughts… memories. "Y-You can go back to the lounge. I'm sure there's another bedspread here," She searched the cupboard unseeingly not only because of the lack of light.

It was for sure this time. The woman's voice **did** tremble. Izaya blinked a little confused, he didn't even do anything. He made his lips turn up as he stepped closer to her form. Her shaky hands slowly stopped rummaging through the piles of towels and, apparently invisible, blankets. She didn't back away but he could feel that she wanted to, much like when she first came home. "Is this a daily ritual for you? Crying?" he lightly teased.

"I'm not crying." She shot him a glare, her eyes dry. "And no. It was just because of you, asshole," she said with utter bluntness, her hands still twitching uncontrollably.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't do anything," he shrugged off easily.

"Fuck you," she spat violently.

He smiled hiding his irritation, "Hmm… I've never really understood that expression," he forced his voice to muse.

"It means to stick a finger up your ass," she informed harshly.

"Hmm… No thanks," Izaya didn't want to think about something as vulgar as that. Unfortunately, the brunette's bluntness conjured up the unwanted image in his mind making him want to hurl right then and there.

"… If you don't listen to me when I tell you not to lay a hand on my body, I will do what I did to Adachihara to you." Now her voice didn't waver at all and her shaking had halted.

_'__Ohhhh!'_ the raven realized, he didn't even think of it. "You think I'm capable of raping someone, Jane-chan? I have to say, I'm offended," he said pleasantly, though his eyes were anything but.

Maemi stared into them, registering the genuine displeasure of being accused, "I-"

"If you thought that then why did you invite me to stay? Why did you get in the same bed as me? Why am I here right now?" Izaya was mainly asking himself the last question, it just escaped his mind and formulated to his mouth.

"… I… I never thought that you would… But…" her glassy eyes searched his desperately, help didn't come. He didn't guess her emotions like she knew he could. Yet she still didn't like saying it out loud but with the way Izaya was looking at her, he wanted answers. "I got scared," she finally admitted her tones going up and down in pitch.

Though her fear was evidently clear to Izaya, it seemed like it was a hell of a lot more complicated than that. "You know I was just messing with you, right?" he asked.

"Wha- Oh… right," she whispered suddenly very interested in the floor.

She really had no idea. But why did that tiny little action receive such a gigantic reaction? If he had to take a wild guess… "It's got to do with that mysterious past of yours, huh?" he inquired with a grin but he didn't get a response making the expression slip away. "Jane-chan, were you-"

Maemi covered his mouth with her hands and more force than what she intended. And for some unknown reason, Izaya let her slowly push him back to the wall. "Don't say it," the woman ordered feebly, her lip quivering.

He took hold of her scarred wrists to pull her hands away from his mouth, "Were you?" he asked.

"Shhhh!" she hushed urgently almost begging. The female's eyes became the tiniest bit more reflective. More and more. No matter if she kept her eyes open to dry them or if she looked up to the nonexistent heavens. Izaya stayed silent as the woman tried but failed to compose herself. Drooping her head down to avoid being seen. "I… Excuse me. I need to go to my room." As the woman walked away, Izaya felt the urge to follow her again but thought better of it hearing the door close.

_'__Best to leave her alone,'_ he thought. But why should he? He wanted to follow her, so why not? … Why did he want to in the first place? Was her weeping as interesting as her killing schemes? Nope. So why? His feet took him to her bedroom door anyway, and his hand reached for the doorknob. It wasn't locked. Oh, wait. No, it just didn't have a lock.

"Go back to the couch, Izaya," the girl deadpanned, wrapped in a bundle of blankets on a double sized bed.

"I don't think you actually want me to, Jane-chan." He paused for a response but he didn't get one, "Otherwise, you would have blocked the door with something." He stole a glance around the room. She could've pushed her dresser if she really wanted.

"Or I just thought you wouldn't care and fuck off!" Her hostility was raised again.

"That's very rude~" he sang.

She demanded him to shut his mouth and go away again, only to be simply refused with a…

"Nope!" the raven popped the 'p'. Izaya stepped through the threshold and slumped onto the foot of her bed. _'This is strange.'_ He thought while sighing. "Okay, Jane-chan. You have my word. I solemnly swear to never touch you. Happy?" he asked, the words almost echoing into the darkness.

She stayed silent for a bit but turned around to face him, "Not really," the woman said still watery eyed.

"Aww~ Why not?" he chuckled.

"Izaya… Do you even need to ask that question?" she whispered lowly.

"… Not really." His smile depleted. In the dark, it didn't matter that much. "Who was it?"

"… Find out yourself." She didn't want to tell him – not anyone – the full story.

"Is he dead?" The question was kind of unnecessary.

She stopped herself from correcting the question, "Yes."

"Did you kill him?" Another pointless question but the answer wasn't the point. It was the fact if she'd answer.

"Yes," she spoke softly.

"Like Adachihara?" He continued.

_'__Most of them, yes. But not all of them.'_ She thought. "Kind of," her mouth spoke.

"Worst?" he questioned misunderstanding her. She shook her head in a 'no'. "You should have," Izaya said simply.

"I know," To be honest, she wished she had.

"You were new to killing, weren't you? Back then," he pushed her further.

"Yes," she replied stiffly.

"I see. How old were you?" It probably wasn't the socially 'right' thing to do but he wanted to get some information whenever he could.

She didn't know what to say. Eight or thirteen? "For what?" she asked without thinking. Her mind was too foggy. It was as if her body was on standby like the woman was some kind of robot. What were they even discussing? When she was first ra-… or her first kill?

Izaya furrowed his brows, _'What's that suppose to mean?' _he pondered. "For when it happened." The male was guessing she had killed the unknown man when he was on top of her but was that not the case? He remembered the overlapping scars on her wrists.

"'It'?" she echoed. _'It?'_ How something like that, be thrown under the word, 'it'!

"For when you were raped," he paused, "**I** thought **you** didn't want me to say it, Jane-chan," Izaya said pointedly.

"Eight," she said barely even hearing him. "I was eight." Why was her month spilling all this shit? All these details of her life that no one needed to know! And certainly not him! He already knew enough!

Izaya's lips were slightly apart until he closed them shut. The number was surprisingly low. "And you killed him then and there?" he had to make sure. It didn't add up with his research, not that he had much but… still. And the scars, some looked older than the others.

_'__Fuck!'_ she cussed. Of course, he had to know. Of course, he'd speculate with her stupid blabbering mouth! "No." Her eyes spilled more salty water. "I didn't."

"When?" He had his guess ready.

"Thirteen." Maybe it was her brain's refusal to answer that her voice cracked.

_'__I was right.'_ Izaya thought. "Did you stab him in the eye?"

"Can you stop with this fucking interview?" the woman cried softly. Finally! Finally! She took control again, not being on standby mode.

Izaya crawled up to place his head where a pillow should be, but the cushion was in Jane-chan's arms while her other soaked up her tears. She quickly moved over to the right side of the bed. "Jane-chan, I'm not going to do anything," he said matter-of-factly. Maemi was gritting her teeth rather tightly. "Come on~ you know me, right?" the male cooed.

"No. This is only day three, idiot," she snapped back.

"No, it's been more than ten months," Izaya corrected with a pout.

"You can't count that. We didn't interact at all," she reminded him.

Under the raven's breath and light chuckle could be distinguished, "But you did stalk me for a while," **he** reminded **her**.

"Yeah, I was deciding whether to kill you or not. Don't make me go through the process again," she hissed obviously finding no amusement in the matter.

"Ooo~ scary!" he said cooingly. "But what I was going to say…" Izaya turned back a few pages, "You should be aware that I don't have certain desires to reproduce with the opposite sex," he smartly informed, only to be shamefully knocked down.

"You're still lonely though," the girl mumbled, irritating the raven head.

"What I meant," he started coldly but regained his sly silky voice, "Was that I don't care for that sort of intimacy. I'm what humans call an 'Asexual'." He explained.

"Bullshit," she remarked dryly. "Is that all? If so, get out."

"No," he refused childishly.

"Why?" she whined just wanting to be alone.

That was a good question. Because she was interesting? Because he wanted to know more about her? Because he wanted to know what she'd do next? What would **he** do next? How did he not even know? Why was he getting so personal? He was on her bed, for crying out loud. What was he doing there? Was he playing favorites with her? Why did he bother breaking into her house? Why did he wait **three** and a half hours until she got home? Why did he stay? … Why did he **want** to stay? … Why?

"… Because…" Izaya shut his mouth. _'Because you know what I'm like but you still don't hate-'_ No, he didn't need to say that. There was no need to explain himself to this woman. He stood up, suppressing the answer he, fortunately, held back. "Fine," he said with a sigh that didn't belong to him, "I'll leave," but he felt a hand pulling the hem of his shirt. He didn't look back.

"That's not fair. I gave you so many answers, a-and yet, you can't even give one?" Maemi tugged at his shirt not letting him get away for free.

"Nope," he popped his 'p' simply.

"Fine! I'll answer for you!" she rumbled, "You're here to screw with my mind and torture me with all this shit! You're here because you want to know what happened to me. It drives you to insanity that you don't know because of your stupid little god complex! You feel like you need to know every tiny detail because that's just what you're used to! You fill yourself up with everyone else's problems and laugh at them so then you don't have to face your own!" She had a whole list to go through, but she was stopped.

"Does it look like I'm laughing to you?" Izaya asked darkly. Her every word took a slice to his skin. Not only because it was true but that of course, of course, she had to assume the worst. His answer was a heap simpler though he was starting to doubt it now. How would she react if he told her, did he dare it? No. No, he couldn't. But… that would be interesting; he could always play it off as a joke after. "You want to know the real answer, Jane-chan?" Izaya paused, "I'm here because you don't hate me… or at least, I thought you didn't." The raven chuckled but then felt the woman's grip on his shirt flinch and slacken.

"How could I hate someone who is just as sad as me?" she whispered. Izaya heard the blankets shift as he felt the woman's breath on his back. Her soft hands and arms caressed his torso making him slightly shiver. "Sorry, I was just angry," she voiced softly.

Well… he didn't expect that. He thought the girl would act as though she suddenly became a mute until he sang out into laughter, but nope. Instead, he was being hugged? And instead, he became mute. Instead, he wasn't able to utter a single, simple word or chuckle. He couldn't even muster up a sly grin.

Kneeling on the bed, she softly held the soundless male, repeating to herself that there was no need to feel afraid. "You can let it out you know," she gently told him.

Izaya didn't reply right away. How was he going to get out of this? Shit! He shouldn't have said that! Play it off! Just play it off. The male gave a giggle that was similar to twitter belonging to a small bird, "You're so gullible, Jane-chan!" he sang, "I was messing with you again!"

"No you weren't," she contradicted him lightly.

_'__Shit!' _he swore to himself, but still managed to chortle, "You're wrong, Jane-chan~" the male cooed.

"Turn around and say it again," the girl ordered. "Do it and I'll believe you," she easily lied.

He had no choice, huh? Izaya turned to face her, his eyes had adjusted to the dark allowing him to see at least her silhouette not that he needed to see, in fact, he wished he couldn't at all. That would make it easier. However, it wouldn't change the fact that he could feel her arms around him. The woman's hold wasn't tight, very, very, very light actually; just barely grazing over the soft material of his third-quarter sleeved shirt. "You. Are. Wrong." He taunted her with each word. But at his voice, the grip instantly tightened, not in rage or humiliation but in comfort.

"Izaya, you would never swallow your pride like that if you weren't in a dire situation. You're lying to me," she paused, "Sorry but, that little dare was a test," the woman explained. She waited for a reply but he just kept on that eye reachless grin, "You want to go watch the end of that stupid movie?" she offered.

Snapping away from his racing mind, consisting of a considerable amount of swearing, Izaya broadened his lips purposefully, "Yes, indeed. Though, I doubt it's still on," he added wanting to get out of it.

"We'll see. If it isn't we can just watch something else," she shrugged letting his body free as she stood.

He attempted again, "I thought you wanted to go to sleep."

"No. I wanted to have alone time which you didn't grant me," the woman muttered pacing to the living room.

**Author here! Sorry that I didn't warn anyone of rape being mentioned in this chapter along with another chapter before. I think it was 'Utter Retribution'. Sometimes, I don't like giving warnings because umm... spoiler... well that's how I feel when I'm the reader. I hope no one is offended but I will give warnings when it's graphic. I know that in 'Sooner or Later' Maemi's... past... was a little obvious or at least hinted at, well that's what I was aiming for. I didn't want it to come out of nowhere and if you didn't pick it up, I'm sorry, that's my bad.**

**I know I uploaded not too long ago. Four days ago? I don't know, this just happened... And it's the longest chapter yet! I guess the weather was good for writing, all cloudy and rainy, it just put me in the mood! I'm rambling. Anyways, a shout out to TheOrangeLight,**** my very first reviewer! ****I sincerely hope I was able to achieve what you recommended for the last few chapters. I wanted to say something before but also wanted to wait until this part of the story. I know didn't dial it back very much but... you'll get it sooner or later. **

**See what I did there? Ahaha Okay! Bye-bye! **


	11. It's Just Insomnia

**Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara! (Only Maemi) **

The unknown woman was doing this all on purpose, wasn't she? She was getting revenge in such an effortless way; just sitting next to him keeping an eye on his every fucking move. But no matter what, Izaya didn't let up on his signature grin or mischievous persona even though he really didn't feel like it. How did the girl read him like that? How could she tell when he was lying? No one could do that. And that test! **He **was the one that did that, not her, not anyone else! Prior to meeting the irksome woman, Izaya thought these capabilities belonged to him alone. Apparently not. That thought kind of made him want to laugh hysterically, yet throw up and rip out his own hair.

Maemi took in the frown of the raven's eyebrows as he smirked like nothing was wrong. He attempted in gazing back multiple times but seemed to always fail since the woman never let her focus wander.

With Izaya not being able to stare back for very long for a number of reasons, he concentrated on the TV. He noticed the woman didn't react to the movie like she did before in that casual way and maybe, she was still a little nervous. The brunette didn't dare to join him and tuck herself under the covers, instead, sitting atop of them leaning against the body of the couch.

The pair weren't uttering a single word to each other, not needing to, having already said enough. Half-way through the second movie, Maemi was feeling the weight of her eyelids. The woman tried everything to keep herself awake but her body simply didn't listen. She relaxed more and more until she was lying down on her side. When did that even happen? She didn't have the chance to answer herself, for her thoughts were drowned out. Her mind and body shutting down.

At the sound of slow steady breaths to Izaya's right and the feeling of being watched gone, it only meant one thing. She was asleep. Finally fucking asleep! Now Izaya could finally relax! Yay! It was just so uncomfortable with her never-ending stare. Is that what it felt like for her when he'd stare at her? … Oh well!

Izaya stole a glance at the female to confirm and sure enough, her lids were shut. Jane Doe snoozed, her lips slightly parted and her dark brown hair disheveled. Though the woman was undoubtedly unconscious, Izaya saw beyond her appearance. He was concentrating on her expression. How her eyebrows were in a small frown and the reason her lips were apart was as a result of her bottom lip twitching and quivering. And even though her body would have to be cold from not having any blanket enveloping her, she was sweating. The longer Izaya tuned out of his own mind, gazing at her, the more he heard her mouse-like whimpers.

Nightmares… Makes sense. After all the shit the girl had seen, experienced and inflicted.

Izaya withdrew his garnets from the woman moving to sit up and creep his way out of the bed. But he didn't achieve any of that. At the slightest motion, Jane-chan jolted in fright. The male flipped his head toward her, surprisingly she was still asleep. Slowly, her deepened frown smoothed and her arms appearing to be searching for something only to give up lazily.

The raven attempted to at least remove the covers from himself. He couldn't sleep in the same bed as her, that's just weird. And sure maybe, he had done things a heap weirder but this? No thanks. But with every move he made, the woman next to him stirred as if going to wake up. He didn't understand why it made him stop and stay in the same position for more than two hours! His body felt cramped and stiff like he hadn't moved in days. His eyes were so heavy yet his mind wouldn't stop rambling.

It went on and on about the unknown female beside him. Perhaps, her dreams reflected his thoughts. Her past, her torment, those scars around her wrists. They looked like she had struggled against ropes and some appeared to be from metal. Did she have them anywhere else? Around her ankles, perhaps? How long were those restrictions around her wrists? How many times was she assaulted? Was it just one man or various? And if so, how many men did that to her? Either way, she was still…

Why the fuck did he care? What did any of that have to do with him? It didn't matter. He couldn't change the past. He didn't do anything. He wasn't responsible for others' actions. They decided what to do with their pathetic human lives. They always did. It wasn't his problem. It's all in the past.

With that out of the way, Izaya's mind shifted to… the present. The female was way too close. This was too strange, way out of his comfort zone and yet he didn't move away. He promised to never lay a finger on her but he didn't say he wouldn't allow her to touch him, right? After all… she did kind of hug him before. That was… kind of nice. And really warm- Shut up!

The woman limply searched for something numerous times, Izaya finally figured that that something was her pillow that she kept to her side. And with every search, her body closed in on him. Soon Izaya was granted his subconscious wish that she'd mistake him for the soft cushion. Izaya, being too heavy to drag in her direction, the female pulled herself towards him.

Was letting her do this breaking his promise? He stared at her, their faces so close as she hugged him unknowing. Izaya noticed how his muscles loosened under her touch. He didn't even realize how tense he was until he fully relaxed. His body and heart seemed to have different opinions, however. While his figure melted, his heart pounded against his lungs maybe making it a little harder to breathe. He felt as if he was enveloped in the comfort of the heat of a burning bonfire. Why was it so hot all of a sudden? He pretended to not know the answer. He would never admit it. Izaya tried to close his eyes and fall asleep but how could he in this high temperature? Apparently, the silky skinned woman was also feeling the heat radiating from him.

"Mmm…" she threw off his blankets and cuddled up to him. Now, her face buried in his chest.

Would she be able to hear his heartbeat? Most likely. The female had her left arm around him while her right folded and pressed at the side of his chest. Her foot gently grazed against his. Why did it feel so… nice? Izaya didn't understand at all. Slowly, painfully slowly, the heat dissipated and his heartbeat returned to a normal…-ish speed. His eyes began to feel heavy again, he didn't bother resisting; letting them slide shut.

But in his sleep, Izaya didn't have control of the movements his body yearned for. Instead of lying on his back he rolled over, facing the woman who flinched awake. She opened her eyes only to come face to chest with a male in a v-neck black shirt. The brunette noticed that she was on his side of the bed and how she was the one holding him. Maemi grabbed the blanket to cover herself with them, launching herself to the opposite side of the bed. The television screen was so bright allowing her to see quite clearly. Izaya slept silently on his side. His fur-lined jacket was off and hung on the edge of the left armrest of the recliner. Maemi noticed how his expression looked so glum and full of anger as his lips drooped down rather than being twisted up.

Izaya felt the jump in the bed but it wasn't enough for him to fully awaken him being way too exhausted. But at the feeling of eyes upon him, he had to check what was transpiring. He connected them with her ambers and smiled sleepily, "What are you staring at now, Jane-chan?"

"Oh shoosh." She stood up and tried to find the remote to turn off the TV; little did she know Izaya had it.

"What is it?" he questioned.

"The remote, I can't find it." She rubbed at her tired eyes. Stealthy, Izaya hid the object under the covers and stopped himself from giggling. He watched her search around the recliner, under, in the knocks and crannies of it all. The male even 'helped' at one point. Maemi eyed him suspiciously. She had already found the remote but wondered if the male did it on purpose. "You search under the covers, that's the only place left, right?"

"Okay, okay." Izaya looked under the blankets, Maemi watching his every expression. When his eyes fell upon the landmark it was gone. He paused for a bit before saying, "Not here."

"Yeah, but it was there." She held up the remote. "You were somewhat taken aback just now. Care to tell me why?" she furrowed her brows slightly.

"You got me." He raised his arms up in surrender and sniggered.

With no emotion in her voice, she stated, "I really dislike you right now."

"Nawww~ but Jane-chan!" Izaya whined playfully.

"Dude, I just want to sleep." The brunette blinked slowly showing her drowsiness.

He giggled impishly, "It was payback for waking me up," he only got an hour in but it felt more like ten minutes. "You could have just pressed the power button on the side of the screen," he challenged.

"What?" she asked in utter confusion. The raven hummed with the same expression. Maemi looked back at the TV screen's side, "So that's what those buttons are for," she grumbled glaring at them only gaining another snicker from the fricken raven. She insistently got defensive, "Hey! This is my first TV."

Izaya let himself fall back onto the mattress. "Fair enough, Jane-chan." He stared up at the ceiling but notice the woman's amber eyes concentrating on him again. "What are you looking at now, Jane-chan?" he repeated.

Shifting her gaze elsewhere she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, "Umm… nothing."

"You don't have that option, Jane-chan~" he wagged his index finger at her.

Maemi shuffled on the spot before continuing, "… I can't believe I fell asleep next to you."

Izaya stayed still, not that he was moving much before but it was kind of unnatural. His lips were kept curled, though his red eyes were unchanged. The male finally turned his head to face her, "Really now? Why's that?" he asked with that same smirk.

Maemi stared back at him, "It's nothing personal," she assured him. "I just never thought I'd be… comfortable enough to actually sleep." This time she worded it better.

His rigid body seemed to dissolve at her words, much like when he was embraced and like then, though he pretended not to notice or know the reason why. "You were comfortable, you say?" Izaya taunted though he regretted not changing the subjected.

"Well… not really. Well… I guess I was but- umm… I.. ah.." Maemi felt very **un**comfortable now. So much, that it was like she had forgotten how to speak.

Izaya gazed at her interesting reaction, he chuckled flipping over on his stomach under the blankets. "How cute. You're so shy, Jane-chan. Maybe you're more like Mae-chan than you lead on."

"I'm not shy! Or cute! What the fuck?" her volume was louder than she intended.

"Aww~ is someone embarrassed?" he mocked her more and chuckled in amusement.

Maemi inhaled deeply and let it out in a short huff. "Shut up." At least now she could control her voice.

Izaya just laughed again, "So mean~" he falsely whined. Some time past with the two in silence; Maemi still standing awkwardly. "Hmm… what's the time?" the male wondered.

"Don't know. But I don't feel tired anymore thanks to your annoying little game of treasure hunt," she bitterly muttered.

Meanwhile, the male searched the right pocket of his jacket to take out his phone. It was 2:14 a.m. How long did he sleep next to the murderer? Damn, he should probably be a little more careful. Oh well! "Do you want to watch another movie?" he suggested.

Since the girl had work tomorrow it probably wasn't a good idea but… she wasn't tired so… Maemi nodded silently to Izaya's surprise. He sat up and flicked the blankets to lay somewhat flat over the mattress. Laying back down on his side he patted an empty space inviting the woman to sit.

"I… I'm just going to get my pillow," she said before guiding herself to her bedroom in the darkness. It wasn't too hard since she knew the layout of her house like knowing every lyric of a catchy song.

Izaya listened as her footsteps grew fainter and fainter until they were completely gone. Closing his eyes it was as if he was back in his own home. In that large… empty space. Alone yet again. He lips were still twisted up into a grin. He wrapped the warm, soft blankets around himself. They enveloped him with a comforting scent which he recognized as… Jane-chan's hair. Izaya's eyes shot open, as he removed the blankets from his nose. That was too much of a weird thought.

The cocoa-butter scented woman grabbed her pillow and took her sweet time walking back the couch. Maybe, if she took too long he'd be asleep by the time she got back so she could just escape from this dilemma. Now she stood at the lounge, she had crept up quietly, "Izaya," she whispered. "Are you…" she waited. Maemi could see his eyes were closed, "… Asleep." She finished, no longer a question. The woman sighed in relief but also somewhat… disappointment? She was about to make her way back when the female finally heard Izaya's voice.

"So you really aren't going to kill me," he said in interest.

She gave him a questioning look, "… You mean still didn't believe me?"

"Hmm… That's hard to answer," he mused truthfully.

"You're weird," she chuckled. She slowly guided herself to the right side of the recliner and sat down making sure not to sit on him.

"No I'm not," Izaya brushed off, she had said a lot worse before. "I thought you wouldn't come back." The brunette fiddled with the corners of her pillow. "Why didn't you?" She obviously asking herself the very same question. The unknown woman stayed silent for a moment.

"I don't know." She shrugged a bit disgruntled that she couldn't answer. Or rather, didn't hadn't even thought of it. Did she actually want to come back?

Izaya placed his smile on his face, "Are you glad I'm here?" he teasingly asked her.

"I don't know," Maemi repeated but this time in a whisper.

Izaya didn't really like that response though doubted he would have liked what she really thought. Of course, she wasn't glad. Why did he even bother asking that? It was stupid. "You know, Jane-chan, you can lie down if you want." The raven offered since she was still sitting, her legs over the edge and her pillow in her lap.

She hesitated before doing so, folding over the blanket so she wouldn't trap Izaya under them. He moved over a little to give her room, "Thanks." She rested her head down and brought her second pillow to her chest so she could hug it and placed the cushion between her body and his. It was just the most comfortable way for her to sleep for some reason. It was as if the pillow was a shield of some sort. Maemi blinked slowly, why did she feel drowsy all of a sudden?

"Aren't you cold?" she heard Izaya ask. Only receiving a sleepily shrug. The male chuckled, "Are you falling asleep already, Jane-chan? I thought we'd chat for a while or watch something ridiculous on the television." She let out a feeble giggle. The girl then felt something warm and soft cover her. Maemi opened her eyes again. Izaya could see the flashing of slight concern in them, being tucked in bed with him. He sighed, "You were cold, weren't you? Besides, you've got that pillow between us," he smugly grinned. The woman noticed how he was careful to not break his pledge when covering her. The thought made her grin. And she nodded to him. There was a small pause, "You don't seem scared anymore," he mentioned quietly. She meekly agreed with a hum, trying to keep her eyes open. And Izaya had to admit, he was fucking tired too.

"Izaya," the woman whispered. He questioningly hummed back. "Thank you for playing along," she mentioned vaguely. But the raven instantly understood. She was thanking him for pretending nothing happened tonight; like he hadn't found out she was raped. But he had something to gain for pretending tonight didn't occur; it meant she'd ignore what he let loose.

But there was one thing. One question that eating him alive. "Those scars… did you get them from the ages eight to thirteen?" it felt like he already knew the answer but wanted to voice it. Though, only silence followed; not because Jane-chan fell asleep but because she didn't want to answer. He pretended that it was the first reason. "Goodnight, Jane-chan."


	12. Self Deceit

**Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara! (Only Maemi)**

At the sound of an alarm, Maemi shot up for her bed- Not her bed. After muting the irritating noise, she turned to the TV that was apparently switched off. Did the raven next to her do that? Because she was sure she fell asleep when it was on. The woman could recall the male antagonist character turning into a ferret on screen and Izaya chuckling at it. Slowly, her gaze shifted down to her left side. Izaya didn't even hear the alarm, heavily sleeping thanks to the almost sleepless night. Lying back down, Maemi practically sewed her eyes onto the male. This was so… weird. If she was okay with doing this then what else? What was next? Actual contact? Well… she guessed that already happened, huh? Without even thinking, or perhaps thinking too much, Maemi removed the pillow separating herself from the sleeping male and slid toward him. The brunette could feel her heart racing. Was it out of fear? Or… no. No.

Feeling warm breath upon his cheek, Izaya squinted open one garnet eye, "Hmm… Morning," he said casually though the occurrence was anything but. What was Jane-chan doing? The unknown woman instantly backed up, close to falling off the edge of the recliner; apologizing quietly with a small stutter. Izaya propped his head upon his palm, his elbow pointing past his pillow, "For what?" he gave her that stupid grin of his.

The woman's amber eyes shifted around the room, up at the ceiling and finally to her lap as she muttered, "Nothing." Gradually, she found the courage to peer into his eyes and attempted changing the subject, "Did you not sleep at all?" Maemi asked noticing the dark rings under his garnets. He closed them letting her see the thickness of his lashes again.

He smiled, "I slept a little until you woke me up… yet again," he added feeling a little bitter on the inside.

"I was…" she tried to defend herself, however, epically failed.

"Can I ask you something, Jane-chan?" he half opened his lids to stare at her needing to witness every expression.

"… Okay," she agreed hesitantly.

Izaya couldn't help himself. He couldn't miss a chance like this! It's not like it would ever, ever occur again sooo... The male gave a wickered smirk, "Did your heart leap?" he cooed in a low whisper. Izaya started to madly laugh as if she already gave him the expected glare. But she didn't.

Actually, she pulled the blankets over her head, "Shut up~" she whined in a higher pitch than usual.

His cackles came to a sudden halt, "… Hmm?" Izaya carefully pulled the covers anyway from her face but she just sheltered it again with her hands. His eyes lingered on the scars for a moment, until he spotted her pink ears. He chuckled, "Wow, I didn't expect a 'yes'."

"Shut up~!" the girl whined again.

The raven couldn't help but giggle, this was just too good! "Want to tell me how you got so close to begin with?" He gave a smug grin though he really did want to know how that happened. Oh. Did she lose her pillow and he was going to potentially be the replacement again? Yeah, most likely. Wait… but that doesn't explain why she stayed there after waking. She was awake, right?

"Ahh…" Maemi drawled out, "I… I was just… I agreed to answer one question, not two," she suddenly piped up.

"If you don't answer, it's going to make me assume things you may not want me thinking~" he told her all-knowingly yet gave a sing-song tone.

God damn it! He was right, "I wanted… to see if it was scary," she started strong but mumbled out the rest.

With croaked eyebrows, he inquired, "If what was scary?"

This was so hard answer, Maemi didn't even know if she was testing herself. But what else would it have been? There was nothing she could think of, so that had to be it. Getting caught in her thoughts for a short moment, she finally replied, "You," the amber-eyed female summarized in a mere whisper.

The male falsely chuckled, "And am I?"

It was a while until he received a response again, "No," the girl whispered even quieter shaking her head left to right. Izaya stilled like deer caught in the headlights, his lips didn't curve the way they normally did and his crimson eyes were certainly no longer tired now. The woman peeked through her fingers. "I should be and I was but last night- … I don't know. You're just such a weirdo."

_'**I'm** the weirdo?' _he questioned. She was the 'weird' one here. Izaya lied down his head on the pillow and covered the woman's face with the blankets. "Don't call me a 'weirdo'," he said simply.

"Izaya…" it seemed she listened, "Can I…" Maemi changed her mind. "I can't breathe under here."

The raven let a smirk slide upon his lips raising a brow quizzingly, "That was a really bad cover-up. You can do better than that, Jane-chan." He chuckled imagining the woman pouting underneath the coverings. In which he was utterly correct in predicting, not that he'd ever know for sure. "'Can you'… what?" he asked.

After removing her sulky expression, the woman popped her head out from under the blanket still hiding her nose, "… Can I… hug you?" she asked rather awkwardly, gently holding the edge of the bedspread. Blinking far more than needed, she threw glances around the room golden flakes flickering each time.

Izaya fell silent. Maemi thought she wasn't going to get an answer until he opened his lips only to say a simple, "No."

However, she didn't flinch at the rejection in fact she smiled, "Good," her tones were quiet but pleasant.

He raised an eyebrow, "What?" The garnet-eyed male didn't understand.

She giggled at his face half-heartedly attempting to bite it back, "Sorry," Maemi nervously said, "I was testing you again." She was somewhat telling the truth. It was a test… but she was still a little hoping he'd say more than just 'no'. But what could be expected of Izaya Orihara? To blush and say sweetly 'Only if you want too'? That would be a complete joke.

"Testing me?" he questioned, he did not see it coming again. Damn… Izaya actually believed her. That's why he gave her such a serious, and maybe too blunt, answer. Connecting her amber eyes with the male's deep red ones, they stared at each other for a moment until Izaya broke away. He turned on his back and gazed at the ceiling to have an excuse to not look at her. "I'm guessing I passed the test?" he said with a sigh.

"Yep! With flying colors!" Maemi suddenly sat up, "I better get up. Want some coffee?"

"Naa~ I have to go soon. I have business to take care of." Izaya curled up his lips.

Maemi had heard that before. She mentally rolled her eyes and shook her head. He wasn't busy. It was just an excuse to leave, but that was alright and understandable, "Oh, okay," the woman answered casually adding nod. When the woman turned, his grin slid away instantly.

He didn't pass the fucking test. Just because he said no, it didn't mean he didn't want her to. He liked the feeling. Why did it feel so good to be in the arms of a fucking murderer! What the fuck was wrong with him? No! There was nothing wrong with him! Nothing. It was the unknown woman who was yearning and aching for human contact. She was the one who always got so close. It was her who was seeking comfort. But as if he'd give her that! The thought alone was enough to make the raven explode in hysteric shrieks of laughter. No, he should hold that back until he got the fuck out of there.

The unknown woman was so alone and isolated from society. Of course she'd cling to whatever fell into her lap. Pathetic really. Izaya was never the one to engage. Sure he had come to her home, invited and uninvited. But his intentions were, are, purely for entertainment because the woman was his toy. She wasn't different from any other human. She wasn't special. She was certainly interesting and her situation was rather tragic, of course, but the human didn't matter. Only last year in Japan, 2472 humans were sexually assaulted and that was just in recorded incidents. It was nothing new. Jane-chan just happened to be one; a part of that unlucky two percent.

And it was rare that he could just converse with a murderer about their assassinations and the life they had before. If he were to ask Simon he'd just get a warning in Russian, or Denis who would glare at him and cut raw fish harshly to make his point. So Izaya couldn't possibly let this chance slide! But that's all. That's all this was. He was getting carried away there for a moment. Izaya let himself chuckle under his breath.

"What are you laughing at now?" he heard the woman call out from the kitchen.

"Oh, nothing really," the raven sighed out using momentum to stand. It was nice and everything but he couldn't have Jane-chan getting attached or something. Humans could easily get that way. She even slept in the same bed as him! Yes, leaving and distancing himself from her was the best option. He'd be back, of course. Throwing on his jacket he noticed Jane-chan eyeing him suspiciously. "I have to go now, Jane-chan!" The male waved his goodbye as he passed her heading for the front door.

"Bye!" she called after him. The woman heard the door close. _'Did I make him angry?'_ she questioned herself as she sipped her coffee not paying attention to the taste.

Three days had gone by without Izaya dropping in unexpectedly at Maemi's front door… on the inner side. It was strange that suddenly having company to not having anyone again made the house feel emptier than before she even met him. Was she lonely without even realizing? ... Well, that's kind of pitiful.

Three days quickly turned to four. Before the woman knew it a week had passed. Everything was back to normal. Maemi drank her daily coffee, went to work, came home and all that ordinary stuff. It didn't feel right. It was like she was starting from square one, from back when she first pulled Maemi Shimizu out and threw her into the unknown… the mundane. Maemi Shimizu somewhat didn't know to behave anymore. The woman felt alienated, it didn't matter where she was. At the café, the streets of Ikebukuro, her own home. All of it. She didn't belong here, did she? Not after murdering so many people. But then again, she couldn't go anywhere else. It would feel even more wrong if she did. The brunette had only killed one person in Ikebukuro, and she avoided the crime scene with every fiber of her life. If she was in the smaller cities the woman would see dead bodies everywhere. Her victims usually hid out in those shady areas. Her home had to be Ikebukuro. It had to be.

This was Izaya Orihara's fault. His harsh words got to her, huh? The woman sighed, she'd just have to get used to this town again. But being a little too comfortable wasn't a good thing either. Who knows when this would all go south.

* * *

**Author speaking! I know this chapter is a heap shorter but if I put what I want next here than it would be too long... or is there no such thing as too long? Anyway, tell me which one you prefer. I won't be able to make the chapters long each time but that way I know to do them sometimes or not. Hee~ ****Do you know what movie scene that Mae-chan was recalling? **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Nor the male "antagonist" Draco Malfoy. **

**Well, there's the answer if you didn't catch the reference... but... come on... everyone knows Harry Potter, right? **


	13. The Break In

**Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara! (only Maemi, Kyoko Orojima, scrawny twit, Sasouharu, Kumaru) **

With the looming weight of being anti-social dragging the woman down, her pessimistic and dreary self seemed to settle in comfortably. Though, it was problematic when Maemi was at work. Her co-workers seemed to think something awful happened to her since she'd normally nod politely and give everyone a sweet small smile. Instead, she'd space out constantly and when she snapped out of her deep thoughts she'd ask, "Huh? What?" rather than her usual sugary, "Pardon?" In their books, she was labeled as depressed but in actuality, the woman was slipping between being herself and being Maemi Shimizu. Since she spent a long time relaxing, letting her true emotions and thoughts out with Izaya, it was hard to contain them again.

She'd worry about that later. The woman may as well relax now while she was at home. Maemi sat at the couch, eating Chinese takeout. She didn't care how bad it was for her! The comfort of a Chinese green curry was doing wonders for her mood. Plus, she didn't feel like cooking after being called in to work a full day shift. One of the girls was sick so she had no choice but to say 'yes'. Or maybe it was a test to see if she really was 'depressed' as they called it. Either way, it didn't change the fact that Maemi had the horrific habit of agreeing to things she didn't want to do. The exact opposite of… 'Jane'. She wasn't used to the long hours so her calves and feet ached from standing and running around all day.

The female popped a honey chicken piece in her mouth when she heard rummaging coming from the front door. A deep voice was mumbling under his breath; she didn't recognize it. Instantly pulling out her knife she clicked it open as the wooden door did the same. _'Shit. Shit.'_ The woman cursed in her head over and over. Maemi didn't have her disguise on; she was completely exposing her identity to the intruder. Intruders? The voices were too quiet. But they were definitely talking to each other. Why were they here? Was it two people? More?

Maemi listened for footsteps as she quickly turned off the muted TV she previously used for light. She was ready to fight. There'd be no point in hiding. There weren't a lot of hiding places in this house. Waiting to be found or waiting in the shadows to strike. It was obvious which one was the better option.

"This was the address, right?" a male's voice whispered shakily. It wasn't familiar to Maemi at all.

"Of course it is!" another man's deep tones hissed to the first. "You go down in the lounge; I'll check the hallway and her bedroom. She's probably in bed after her long day of work. Maybe if we get lucky, she sleeps in the nude," it said deviously. She could imagine the man licking his lips making Maemi grit and grind her teeth.

_'__What's going on here? How did he know I worked all day- That fucking dick. This is Izaya's doing, isn't it?'_ she thought spitefully.

"Y-Yeah," the first voice shortly agreed, Maemi took notice of the anxiousness in his voice.

"Kumaru, you stay here in case she tries to make a break for it," ordered the second through his teeth.

"Right," a third joined, trying to keep his voice steady.

Footsteps were coming towards Maemi as she crouched behind the recliner. It must be the first male. She slowed her breathing suddenly aware of her entire body. The feeling was so familiar. But she swore. She swore she'd never kill anyone again… Break the promise or… This was going to be troublesome. She bit the dull edge of the knife between her teeth for safe keeping.

The skinny male, owning the first voice, out-stretched his arms seeking some sort of guidance in the dark. Stumbling across something suede, he came to the conclusion it was a couch. The thin male made his way around it while his hand dirtied the woman's property with his touch, smearing his existence on it as he stepped.

"Give Nakura the signal to start up the car when I say," the second tone instructed again obviously enjoying his power over the hesitant.

The unknown woman could hear the gliding against soft material and the squeak of her wooden floors under boots. The scrawny twit didn't fucking take his shoes off. Bloody inconsiderate bastard. Even without her sight, the former assassin knew his exact landmark. He was on the opposite side of the lounge to her. Perfect. Still bending low in case he saw her even with the lack of any light, she matched her footsteps with his. It was as if she utterly disappeared. Didn't even exist. The male was about to retreat and relay that no one was there; until the woman, without any warning or sign, grabbed his mouth and nose from behind.

"Mm-" he squirmed in her tight grasp.

"Yes, of course," The third man's voice at the door finally replied. It was raspy but formal.

The first still struggling against her, he might have been stronger but with the imbalance she created, he couldn't throw her off. His attempts only made it harder on himself as he slowly grew limp. She placed him on the ground soundlessly; making sure the couch was blocking the view of the thin body if the lights were to be turned on.

She heard heavy footsteps thumping to her room. _'Shit.'_ She swore again. The girl heard the pounding make their way back but this time to the lounge room. She ducked down again.

"She in here?" he waited for a response, "That pussy, he ran out on us!" he hissed spitefully clicking his tongue, "I thought he would," he croaked to himself. His heavy feet tracked the first man's, walking toward the couch. He too had solid shoes on… The woman understood why they didn't bother with such but it still annoyed her. Now she'll have to mop the fucking floor.

He was too big to take on without a weapon. Concealing the noise of her feet was far easier with this man. She quickly entered the kitchen to draw a blunt weapon, a rolling pin maybe. The woman could see a bit better thanks to the ajar window which let a gentle breeze blow and separate the curtains, the moon's light streaming through. But even with moonlight, all she could find was a glint of metal from a meat tenderizer. She had killed someone with that before, she'd better be careful.

"What the-?" the large man stepped onto the skinny male's unconscious body but Maemi intruded his thought and slammed the flat side of the mallet to his head and her hand to his mouth to muffle the yell. "MMM!" Not hard enough. She hammered him once again forcing him to the ground. He fell and smashed his forehead on the coffee table. If she didn't knock him out, that surely did. It made a loud crash gaining attention from the nervous male standing guard at the door.

"I-Is everything okay, Sasouharu-san?" he called off his leader.

Maemi quickly checked the big man's pulse. It was beating. She dropped his wrist immediately, repulsed by the touch.

"S-Sasouharu-san?" he stepped forward, at the entrance of the kitchen he peeked past the wall into the living area. But not before Maemi sneaked into the hallway, he pointed a gun out in front him. From the way he held the handgun, with his crossed over thumbs and locked straight elbows; his grip wasn't even tight enough. The male was obviously inexperienced. When he was in reach, Maemi grabbed the barrel of the gun, with a swift pull of the firearm and sweep of his arms; she had the gun in her hands. Though, she subtly put the safety on.

The young male stared at her in shock and backed away. She took him by the collar of his shirt and threw him against the wall, pinning him in place. The woman let the blade between her teeth fall into her sweater and be caught on her bra, it was the only safe place since her hands weren't free. "Who sent you here?" she asked darkly, sure to give a glare that froze anyone to ice.

"I-I won't tell," even now the stranger tried to sound strong.

"You're not fooling anyone, buddy. Who?" she asked again pointing the gun to his head.

"No! Please, I didn't want to do this! Please don't kill me," he pleaded pathetically.

"I won't if you tell me why you're here and who it is behind this." Maemi still had her dark aura surrounding her, maybe even darker than the pair's surroundings. She didn't really need to fake it because her temper had already risen a long time ago. It almost suffocated the male and she noticed he wouldn't even be twenty years old.

He seemed to think about it while sweating furiously, "Then… p-put the gun down."

"You don't have the right to order that nor are you in the position to give orders in the first place. Quit stalling, your friends aren't going to wake up any time soon. And the guy in the car isn't going to come out either." Her mouth spilled empty threat after empty threat. She made lying as easy as simply blinking. "Better start getting on topic, boy, or a bullet's going through your head." She pressed the tip of the barrel hard into his skull. "Or maybe you'd like me to slit your throat."

"Okay! Okay. We're here to bring you to Yoyogi Park in Shibuya," he hurried out his words causing built up saliva to unattractively drip from his lips. "I don't know why. Please believe me."

_'__Yoyogi Park, huh?'_ she mused to herself, "Who?"

"His name's Izaya Ori-

Sighing, she hit the handle of the gun to his head instantly forcing him unconscious cutting his words off. He didn't really need to finish. She made her way to the front door and let it ajar; peeping through in search for… Nakura, was it? The man whose duty was to start up the car when the group retrieved her. She saw a black van with the driver's window slightly down. That would have to be it. There was a silhouette of a male in the driver's seat gripping the steering wheel rather tightly, checking back and forth.

Back… and… NOW!

Maemi ran to the van and with the footsteps, the male turned back again. But only to see nothing had changed.

"Hmm…" he said thoughtfully and opened the door to step out. However, once he did he was grabbed from behind; Maemi's hand wrapping tightly around his throat and nose. He fell limp far too soon. She was good but not that good. The woman saw right through him, she knew he was still conscious. He most likely assumed she'd let go of him, how wrong he was.

"Nice try," the woman whispered partly to ridicule him. She gripped harder and he started struggling again. The male slammed her against the van with his back. Maemi bit back her yelp and continued to squeeze, suffocating him. He was hitting every inch of her he could get to and clawed at her hands. What was he? A girl? Sure, it hurt but he couldn't think of anything else? She thought he'd be a little more experienced after his little stunt. Guess not. Two minutes had past and he finally stopped thrashing about. Maemi let him fall to the ground, noticing the similarities to the man's face with Izaya's. _'What the fuck?'_ she questioned but shrugged it off. She slid opened the door to the back seats of the van. Ropes were rolled up on one of the seats. "This will do," the woman said to herself, picking the thick ropes up that were intended for her.

It was time for the cleanup… Damn it. Still working in the dark, to not attract any attention from her neighbors, she dragged all the men into the vehicle one by one. First up was Nakura since he was out in the open from then on in order of her assaults, the more likely one to awaken. Keeping in mind the handgun she snatched, the woman looted them all for any weapons before securely tying them up together back to back. She didn't have enough rope to bind them separately. The girl's muscles were screaming at her to stop but she wasn't done.

Breathing heavily she wiped the sweat from her forehead with a gloved hand. "I need to start working out again," she noted feeling how much harder the task was than before. Maemi slid the door of the van shut and made her way back inside to dress as an old identity, Kyoko Orojima. She had kept the short black wig because… she… simply liked it. She slapped on a cream that made her skin starkly white and heavily put eyeliner on. Kyoko was the girl to like rock or heavy metal music and live off cigarettes and coffee. The woman rather liked the look but at the moment she was just taking advantage that Kyoko looked a lot like her bare face. She couldn't change it too much due to the third male seeing her. Not to mention Kyoko's attitude…

* * *

**Miaka H. here! Okay... The audience to 'normal Durarara' is meant to assume Nakura's face looks, at least a little, like Izaya ****(thanks to Shinra)****... right? Right? You don't get to see Nakura's eyes but since Shinra managed to change Mika's eye color blue... there's a fair chance the doctor turned his stabber's eyes to deep red. And maybe Nakura just doesn't keep up with dying his hair black like what he's told to do. His harmless and pathetic way of rebelling I'd say. **

**But then again, this could just be my imagination getting the better of me... **


	14. Kyoko Orojima

**Disclaimer: I don't own Durarara! (only Maemi)**

* * *

When Maemi was done dressing, she casually paced back to the van for the driver's seat. Slamming the door shut probably wasn't the best act of being cautious or wary of gaining attention but too bad. She majorly needed to take her anger out on something, otherwise… well, let's not talk about that.

The woman firmly gripped the steering wheel with her left while searching for the keys she stole earlier, stuffed somewhere in her pockets. "Mmm! MMM!" it was first scrawny male behind her causing the racket. Frantically, he struggled against the unyielding ropes like a fly buzzing in a cocoon of a spider's web. Maemi- Or more specifically, Kyoko whipped around to connect her stormy-grey colored contact lenses with his.

"Shut up!" she ferociously hissed. Kyoko was a harsh woman age of twenty-three, but that was back when the woman last used her, so she'd be twenty-four now; if fake identities could age the way the ex-assassin went through them that is. The woman guessed not, Kyoko felt the same from when she was last pulled out. The male continued to yell in a muffle despite Kyoko's outburst. All of the men were gagged with ropes, thankfully. Otherwise, the screaming would be ten times louder. Sure, the problem of being caught with four men tied up didn't sound very appealing but Kyoko strongly felt she could stand that situation over the noise itself. Then again… She remembered how uncomfortable it was to have something stopping you from talking… screaming. The 'raven' haired female blinked out of the thought and started up the engine since she found the keys. "Do you want to die? Seriously, shut the fuck up," she told the scrawny guy. The woman rolled her eyes and put her indicator on, though no one was there. She hadn't driven a car in so long, the severe woman absently wondered if she could even do it. She pressed her foot on the accelerator causing the vehicle to jolt forward and rev loudly. Her foot was too heavy. She sighed in annoyance, wishing the wondrous effect of the green curry magically to come back… but it didn't.

It was a while until Kyoko got used to the accelerator and steering wheel. She drove on anyway; fear of crashing out of her mind but the same couldn't be said for the men, lidded wails screeching from the back. Heading not in the direction where the men were supposed to take her but instead straight to Izaya Orihara's workplace/home. When she crookedly parked into the lot, the men were all awake. The biggest and strongest of the four looking dazed had blood dripping from where Maemi hit him.

Kyoko turned off the engine and took the keys as well as the weapons she looted from the group. Her own knife, two handguns and a pocket knife not as sharp as her own, was concealed under her black jacket. It probably wasn't necessary but too late now. Locking the gang inside, Kyoko tried to ignore their yells and muffled words that sounded like "dumb bitch" or "ugly slut". 'Dumb bitch?' Who's the one that was smart enough to take out four men in a matter for five minutes. 'Ugly slut?' Who's the one that wanted to catch the woman naked in bed!

The livid woman took to the stairs making her way up to Izaya's floor even though it would take a bloody fucking lifetime. But who knew what that psycho could do to the elevator. He'd probably trap her inside and demand her to leave. There was no fucking way she was simply leaving after that shit. Kyoko had questions and that bastard was going to answer them. Best to be safe and stick with the never-ending steps. Kyoko was convinced he'd be home. He was probably even watching her right now. Eventually, the woman stood at his door. She glared at it. Luckily the mock-raven was wearing gloves if she wasn't; her fingernails would have dug deep into her palms a long time ago. Not that Kyoko would have cared if they did. Right when she was about to pick open the lock on the door, the motherfucker himself opened it for her.

"Hello~, Jane-chan!" he greeted what he'd call pleasantly. The male smiled, lifting the apples of his cheeks forcing lines to appear at his eyes; little did he know or cared his brow remained in an oddly straight position. "Wow! That's Kyo-chan, right?" Izaya mocked amiable surprise staring into her eyes. It was strange to not see them in their usual shade of glowing amber.

Kyoko did not feel like talking, especially if he was going to be like this. She settled for a, "Yeah." She answered lifelessly, dismissing the ludicrous nickname in the process.

Holding the door open and standing to the side, the real raven-head motioned for the woman to come inside. She quickly passed him, her familiar rich-scent wafting the male's way. He shut the door without much thought, "So you didn't kill them then," the male noted grinning thinly like always.

It wasn't a question. How the fuck did he know? "Yeah," she repeated eyebrows furrowed.

"And yet you don't have a scratch on you," he mused inspecting her as if she was some kind of art piece at a museum. He all knowingly smirked at her while circling Kyoko quick on his feet. Hopping around and eagerly awaiting a reaction other than 'yeah' or the silent fury in her eyes. The look didn't sit well with the unknown female.

"That's not true." She took off one of her gloves and showed him the claw marks on it; literally having scratches. The pealed skin previously dripped the tiniest bit of blood; evidence being the dried, deep cherry beads. That was all fine and good but the bruises blooming at her sides near her rib cage were what she was disgruntled about. But, being unwilling to expose that much of her skin, the woman settled for back of her hand instead.

Izaya laughed hysterically while almost skipping his way to the couch, "Who did that?" he managed to say sitting in front of a chess broad with mixed pieces of shoji, chess, and Othello.

"I think his name was Nakura," the woman drawled lowly her lips sunken down.

_'Ohhh~ So that's what he was doing!'_ the male thought in realization. _'How dare he~'_ Izaya cooed to himself silently smirking. Nakura knowingly hit a woman repeatedly and crawled at her hands? That guy really hadn't changed much since junior high, did he?

"By the way, why the hell does that shameless asshole have your face?" she inquired monotonously.

Izaya thought the woman didn't notice, being in the dark but looks in he was wrong. But there was no hesitation when she attacked his look-like. Did Jane-chan think it was him at some point or not? "That's another story not got to do with this one," he said shortly brushing her and his own thoughts off, "Yes, Nakura does seem the type. He's always been quite…" Izaya trailed off.

"Pathetic?" the woman finished. The male thought for a bit before meekly agreeing. He was pathetic for sure, but that's what made it so fun to toy with him! But enough about the human! It was Jane-chan's, or Kyo-chan's turn to be… riled up. They were silent for another moment, Izaya still inspecting her. Kyoko was glaring at him intently, 'grey' eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms and popped her hip to the right; looking rather sassy. All she needed was some chewing gum and to flick her hair- wig. "Did you really send them to see if I'd kill them?"

The dark-haired bastard leaned back comfortably resting both arms on either side of the lounge's headboard. "Well…" he drawled, "I guess it can be shortened with a simple yes." It could be… notice that 'could.' Because come on, what was the fun in that? There was no way he was leaving at that.

"What's the unshortened answer?" she pushed.

Izaya giggled at the way the woman's eyes flashed dangerously; frustration coating her features more and more. "I purposefully chose two humans who were hesitant, one who was overexcited about it and… another just to mess with." He brushed the last one off. "Anyway, I wanted to see if you were provoked by one if you'd kill them all. Or just the one. Or none at all. Maybe, you'd let yourself be captured since you'd know it would be me behind it. Only to find that someone other than me was waiting at Yoyogi Park. Someone concerning with a… black motorbike. I really thought you'd go there either having their bodies in the back or your's. But what did you do instead? You attacked, not to kill but to temporarily incapacitate and brought them… I considered it a possibility but I thought you'd feel as if it was too much of a risk. Looks like I underestimated your capabilities. You did rather well, I must say. It was quite entertaining." The male rambled in excitement swishing his hands through the air.

You say that as if you were there," Kyoko pointed out.

He chuckled, "Oh, no. But I was watching through cameras. The gang members were also bugged." The raven lifted his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Do you have cameras in my house?" her voice was still so very dull. Was she in robot mode? The raven head gazed back at her again. No. Just in Kyoko mode. Utterly pissed. Izaya couldn't help but giggle again. The outburst was coming any time now!

"Well, now I do. The camera that was on the big guy fell off. It's on the floor at the moment." Izaya told her glancing at his working desk with his computer and various laptops all set up for the performance. "Oh, and by the way, what did you hit him with? The infrared camera made it hard to distinguish the item."

Gritting her teeth she spoke through them, "It was a meat tenderizer mallet."

He giggled maliciously, "Hana-chan style, huh? That's pretty full on and you struck him twice. You didn't like him that much, did you?" Izaya just needed to push her a little bit more. She was about to explode, her shaking fists evidence.

"I don't like any of them. But yes, he is definitely the most detested. Did you tell him to attempt to defile Mae- me?" she inquired, remembering the man's devious tones as he aimed to find her in bed. The woman was impatiently waiting for this. It was the dominant reason why she came and why she was on the point of smacking the informant across the face.

Izaya paused for the tiniest bit, "Yes, I did. Do you hate me? Are you here to kill me? Finish the job?" he hissed lowly that eye reachless grin playing on his lips.

Kyoko's fists loosened her shaking ceased. The woman took off the wig and a small smile creeping up as she sighed inwardly, "If you did tell him to, you would never admit to it, idiot. You would have said 'I have no idea what you're talking about.'" She mimicked his silky tone and fox-like grin only for it to fade away quickly. "And no. I'm angry but I'm not going to kill you." The unknown woman paused for a response but she didn't get one. "I'm keeping these guns though," Maemi added, trying to open a window for the bastard for some bloody reason. Half-opening her jacket, she showed him the weapons.

"Go right ahead. They're not mine." Izaya shrugged attempting to be just as nonchalant as before. She fucking saw through him again.

The woman zipped herself back up whispering, "Izaya." He hummed in response, "Are you angry at me?" Maemi asked.

The male cocked his head to the side, "Why would I be, Jane-chan?" She dismissed the conversation with a shake of her head, after a moment's hesitation. The brunette thought of how she last saw him and how he quickly dashed for the exit. Did she do something back then to set him off? If so, what was it? She couldn't think of anything. But the woman knew it was something! The raven head pretending to be clueless only gave confirmation that her assumption was right.

"… Another thing," Izaya piped up reading her thoughts, "You really shouldn't drive. You're terrible at it, Jane-chan!" he exclaimed.

Crooking an eyebrow she decided not to comment. It was true after all. Time for a subject twist, "Did you think there was a possibility I'd die?" she asked.

"He lightly laughed, "If you mean in the van with you behind the wheel, then yes." The look he received obviously told him to drop her driving skills… or her lack of. "Other than that. Certainly not; those guys are weak." And Izaya told them not to kill her… but he wasn't going to say that. "I knew you'd be able to take them on. If they were too strong it wouldn't have been any fun. Though, I didn't think you'd get them with practically one attack per person." He chuckled. "Maybe I should have chosen humans that would be more challenging. How about next time?" Izaya chirped as she slumped on the opposite couch facing him laughing bitterly before refusing simply. Izaya was surprised to see that she wasn't screaming at him as most humans did. Jane-chan was so close to it but… not now. She really was interesting… and infuriating. "You say you're still angry but I don't see it anymore. Why's that?"

Maemi looked up at him and raised an eyebrow that asked 'seriously?' "Because what else can be expected from you? I knew you'd do something to mess with me sooner or later." It was her turn to shrug.

Izaya gave a weak chuckle, "I see." Why the hell could she do that so easily? So effortlessly. Did this human know him that well just from stalking him for a month? Fucking hell… that really needed to change. Izaya kept smiling silently for a moment, "Excuse me, Jane-chan but I have to deal with the men you brought here," he spoke with a thin grin as he stood up, seeming to not really want to go.

"'Deal with'?" she parroted in question.

"Oh come on, I'm not going to kill them. That would be bad for business." Izaya wagged his index finger at her as if scolding her.

He did realize that she already spared their lives tonight, right? Maemi could have attacked with her knife. Then she really would have ended it with one strike each. But she decided to not break the promise to herself. "That's not what I was thinking, Izaya. You're still going to pay them even though they failed?"

"They didn't fail at all! They and you performed a grand show!" The male exclaimed opening his arms up in enthusiasm. Maemi sighed, shaking her head in disapproval as she threw him the keys to the van. The woman waved her hand dismissively sending Izaya to skipped away and out the door. That damn idiot.


	15. Leave

A few minutes had passed in silence as Maemi, Kyoko or Jane, or whatever the fuck, was left alone. Snooping around wasn't really her style… at least not anymore since it was no longer the unknown woman's job to do so. She somewhat wondered what she'd find in the bastard's apartment, most likely a huge file of her and 'missing people'. Shaking away from that thought the brunette yawned widely for what felt like the billionth time. Maemi was so exhausted that she didn't even hear the door open. "Don't fall asleep now, Jane-chan," Izaya teased staring at her; he leaned on the threshold of the entrance noticing that she hadn't moved from where he left her. He guessed she didn't bother sneaking about in his absence. Izaya pushed himself off the door's frame before swinging the door closed behind him.

"Why not? You slept at my place," the female pointed out lazily. The male seemed to be unaware of the clearly false smirk sliding away from his lips, instead, sagging down grouchily. Maemi let herself fall into a laying position on her side while her legs still place over the edge. And as a cherry on top, she stuck out her tongue. "I have to get my payback some way. No matter how small," a little smirk of her own formed on her lips.

"You can take the train home," his strained muse was more of a demand rather than a suggestion. Izaya strolled over to her and bent down to be face to face with the unknown woman, "You'll find that I'm not as foolishly welcoming as you," the male hissed. "Now, out," he commanded adding a false smile at the end. To be honest, it pissed her off, even more, when he had that grin plastered on.

Maemi stared into his forced-to-wrinkle eyes before she abruptly sat up, "I get it now," her voice was small though the resolve was evident.

Izaya stood to his full length again, "Get what?" he asked casually… on the outside. He even lifted a hand in a one-sided shrug in an attempt at seeming indifferent. In truth, the male's frustration meter instantly launched. If she fucking saw through him again! God fucking damn it- no. No. Don't show it. Izaya innocently pushed his cheek up. This was easy-

"You're pushing me away because you think we've gotten too personal. Seriously Izaya, you need to take a chill pill," the girl drawled in boredom.

Izaya's brows slightly twitched into a frown as his lifted lips became bitter. "Is that so?"

"Yep," she muttered bleakly shoving the black wig back on her head, "Thanks for putting me through all that shit and making me **drive** here for nothing." Maemi or Kyoko stood and headed for the exit, her graceful and silent steps completely thrown into a fierce fire. Izaya didn't follow her with his eyes but his ears couldn't avoid the sound of her stomps. They listened as she grew further and further away.

"'For nothing?'" he quoted quizzingly, "What do you mean by that?" Izaya piped up all of a sudden, preventing the woman from leaving… That… That wasn't on purpose. It wasn't! It was just… _'Shit!' _

"Dude, we only hung out for three days. We aren't close in the slightest." The unknown woman darkly chuckled, "Sure, you might know too much about me but that doesn't mean you everything… Or maybe it's more appropriate to say 'about-… No. I'll keep that to myself," she spoke to no one, in particular, hushing herself with her index finger over her darkly colored lips. The female raised her voice back to Izaya, "You freaked out over nothing," she spat the words tauntingly at him, giving the raven head a taste of his own medi- … poison.

Izaya found that he was no longer interested in what he supposedly didn't know, being too focused on the dagger-filled words. "I don't know what you're-

"'Talking about'?" she finished for him, "Remember what sh- I said before?" The woman paused a bit trying to recover from her fuck up. "You wouldn't admit the truth." The 'raven' head opened the door and turned to the garnet eyes, "Now, what do you want me to do?" the harsh woman gave him her piercing grey gaze.

"I want you to leave, Jane-chan." His grin didn't meet his eyes, like always.

She grunted to herself and slammed the door shut again, "You're bad at this, Izaya," the woman mentioned shortly, "Why do you want me to stay?" the mock-raven asked, shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head as if she thinking he was being utterly stupid. He hated it. He hated that patronizing look she gave to him.

The male forced his teeth to unclench, "I don't. I just told you to-

"You're getting frustrated," the woman interrupted, "Is it pointed at me? Or yourself? Maybe it's both?" she derided in a whisper, stepping closer as if challenging him.

Izaya sighed deeply, "You're one hell of a human." She really was. He couldn't remember the last time someone tried to fuck with him this way. Humans either just threw punches which were easy to evade. Or they'd speak empty threats. Or cried and sob pathetically in front of him and scream out to him 'I hate you!'… Hilarious. Hi-la-ri-ous. It's fucking hilarious. But this one. This human in front of him now. She wasn't funny in the slightest.

"You're trying to change the subject, Izaya. Perhaps, you're attempting to swing this around to me?" She took another step gradually making her way to him sharpening her eyes.

"Oh, yes. Definitely," he said sarcastically with a bitter chuckle mixed in. Why wasn't she hilarious? Why couldn't he laugh? Why couldn't he laugh at this ridiculousness? Why was it so hard to accomplish all of a sudden? He never ever had any difficulty laughing in someone face! … Was it- … Was it because no one had ever got anything right… until now? Until her?

Another step closer both physically and mentally, "You use sarcasm a lot, but what people don't know is that you're not being sarcastic at all." Another step. "It's just a cover-up, isn't it?"

Izaya stayed silent. If he were to do anything at this point the witch would simply twist and turn his words and actions against him. Well, that sounded familiar. That was something he would do… But… was that even what she was doing right now? Izaya finally noticed the woman right in front of him staring up into him with those fake-gray eyes. She sighed in resignation and gently touched his jawline. He tried to stop himself from flinching.

She furrowed her eyebrows worryingly, "Come here," the woman whispered, her gentle tones coming back like a simple flick of a switch. Maemi easily saw the confusion upon the male's face as she gently tugged his head towards her right shoulder. She didn't realize how tall he actually was until now. He had to bend a little bit.

Izaya felt the unknown woman's warmth from her neck. He smelt that familiar richness of cocoa-butter in her hair. See the faked pale skin and her real dark brown hair that had little knots and kinks in it. When had she taken that god awful wig off? … That didn't matter right now! "What are you doing?" Izaya spilled out from within the woman's neck.

"Trying to comfort you," she told him simply as if there was nothing wrong with this scene. Or as if she hadn't been torturing him with her all-knowing words and mind reading ability only seconds ago! What the fuck was wrong with her? What on earth made this girl think that this was all fine and good! Sure, she had done it before conscious and not, but if it was weird then it's even weirder now!

The raven lifted his head up, "I don't need comfort-

"Shhh! Yes, you do," she forced his head back down and ran her other arm up to his back. Izaya didn't move, apart from blinking, nor did he try to escape anymore. Maemi could feel his eyelashes graze over her neck as well as his warm breath. It wasn't scary being so close to him which was news to her.

"Jane, this is ridiculous. Let go." His voice was quiet since he was right in her ear there wasn't much point speaking loudly. Or at least that's what he told himself. In truth, the raven didn't have great control over his tones, not even the words he spoke formulated properly. If he pushed out his voice the tiniest bit more, who knows what would have happened. And quite frankly, Izaya didn't want to find out. But even with his attempts, the woman only shook her head in refusal. "Let go," he repeated, however, he only received a more violent head shake. Izaya was filled with so many… human emotions; rage, indignity, contempt… and… Why the fuck was he happy?

"It's okay, Izaya, you can hug me back." Her voice was so very soothing as well as the tender touch of her ungloved fingers running through his short hair over and over. With each stroke, the garnet-eyed male seemed to lose tension and stiffness in his body. Bit by bit, he relaxed and maybe… that fury he felt before… maybe it was fading too.

Izaya couldn't believe this was the same woman who was taunting him previously. The same woman who easily took down four men twice her size – except that skinny guy. The same woman who committed so many murders. His limp arms slowly rose up to embrace her back… _'No. I shouldn't.' _Izaya's mind wanted nothing more than to grab Jane Doe's shoulders and push her away but his body didn't allow it. It was like he was trapped in that bed with the woman again. His hands were apparently on auto-pilot and they softly rested on her back… Okay. Admittedly, this was really nice but… what the fuck!

Maemi stepped a tiny bit closer and he couldn't help but do the same. "Izaya~ I didn't know you could be so gentle~" the woman teased, attempting to lighten the heavy mood.

He chuckled into her neck making goosebumps run down her right side from his breath. "What? You like it rough?" he slyly hissed back.

"Oh god. No," she said dryly, "Don't say that ever again." He should really think before he speaks. Of course, the woman didn't like to be handled roughly!

He laughed more and more. It didn't seem natural but Maemi let it slide and didn't mention anything. She just kept stroking his hair and rubbing her thumb on his back. How the hell does he torture people like that? Kyoko Orojima, the 'stone-cold-hearted bitch' didn't even like saying all that shit, even though it was true. _'Oh, Izaya. You truly are terrible,'_ the woman sighed inwardly. "Hey, did you eat dinner?" she asked a few minutes after his "laughing fit".

Izaya had to think for a moment… Did he? No, yeah. He did… Wait, no. That was yesterday… Woops. That darn stupid habit again and not to mention his damned body being too used to not eating properly that it doesn't even signal an alarm anymore. 'Alarm' being the grumbling of a stomach. Not his stomach though. "… No," he finally responded shortly. He decided to not go into his strange dilemma and eating habits or the lack of. "Why?" he asked, his face still hidden in the woman's warm neck. Hmm… If he was a vampire he'd certainly feast upon her… Was that weird to think of? Yeah. Yes, it was. _'Brain. Fucking stop.' _

Maemi sighed yet again, "Of course you didn't," she muttered seeming to already know his food problems. "You want me to cook you something?" she offered, having no idea about his strange thought.

"Ooo~ Sure!" There was no way he was going to refuse. He hated cooking! And the udon last week was so good. She nodded her head and let go of the male but he didn't, at least not straight away. It was really just a second. But that one second said a lot. He turned to the kitchen and motioned her to follow, "Hmm…" he stuck his head in the fridge making sure his back was facing her, "There's not much in here," he told the female truthfully.

The brunette thought for a moment on his strange behavior. Izaya always, always looked at people head on. "Do you have rice?" she asked casually.

"Yeah. But it's not cooked." He still didn't look into her eyes.

"Do you have a rice cooker?" she went on testing him.

"No. But I have a microwave." Izaya pointed behind him at the heating device.

The male still unnecessarily gazed into the fridge; it wasn't like there were a lot of contents to scan. He was no doubt avoiding her eyes on purpose. Izaya would never go on for that long without even glancing at her if it wasn't intentional. The woman opened the pantry turning her back on him purposefully. She guessed she'd go along with it, "Rice vinegar?"

Izaya shut the fridge and stole a glance at her from behind. Why was she avoiding his gaze like he was all of a sudden? Was she also feeling a bit… awkward? This situation was way too bizarre! Her words, _"We're not close in the slightest." _How could they be true after that? Maybe he's just freaking out over nothing again. But last time he checked, humans didn't go around embracing others that didn't mean a god damn thing to them. Maybe it's just because this woman was so fucked in the brain. "Ooo~ Are you planning on making sushi?" he asked in an uncharacteristically chipper voice.

"Rice balls," she corrected. "It's late, I'm tired, and to be completely honest I don't want to do this. I'm not going to spend two hours in the bloody kitchen," Maemi told him bluntly. She could hardly believe that she even offered to do this. Why couldn't he just feed himself! When was the last time he ate, anyway? Maemi turned her head to the sink. There were two mugs stained with a dark brown on the inside. Coffee. Fucking that's it? Damn it! Looks like she had no choice at all now!

"Mmm~" he complained pouting. But sushi's so good~

She huffed a short laugh and turned to ruffle his hair, "Fine. Next time, okay?" she gave him a smiled that didn't have any tension or awkward demeanor to it. It was simple and sweet and maybe a little bit… caring. Izaya nodded in response but to be honest he forgot what he was agreeing to. "Good," Maemi smoothed, "Now go take a bath."

He chuckled, "What are you? My sister?"

"Urg!" she made a revolted scrunched up face. "No. I would have understood if you said 'mother' but 'sister?' Really?" she questioned exasperatedly. Maemi was attempting to break any ice that seemed to form thanks to the raven headed idiot.

"Mother? Oh right," he mumbled to himself. Since when did Izaya Orihara mumble? "I suppose that does make more sense." It didn't occur to him before because… his biological mother wasn't really motherly. She was more the type to wave a hand dismissively and say with a sigh, _'I'm busy. Later on, Izaya.'_

Maemi seemed to comprehend what she just said, "But don't see me as a mom either! Jeez… I'm younger than you anyway." She muttered that last part then slapped her hand to her mouth.

"Hmm~? You're younger… It can't be by much though, right?" Izaya singsonged, grinning ever so widely. It was a better sight but… The girl snapped a loud 'shoosh' his way. "You're twenty-two then," he decided.

Her wide eyes and stunned behavior only added to his statement. "Wha- how- No! I'm nineteen, remember? That's all I meant!" The twenty-two-year-old woman crossed her arms. Izaya couldn't help but chuckle at her obviousness. She really let down her guard, huh? "Anyway!" the brunette said after a deep inhale, she put a serious face on. "What… What relationship do we have?" Again, a ringing silence fell upon the two. "I-I mean… well, just while we're on the subject," Maemi side glanced around the kitchen awkwardly. "I just… I know how I view you but I really don't understand what you make of me."

"How do you view me?" Izaya asked while smirking, only a hint of curiosity showing through.

"Well, you're definitely not my big brother nor my son." Maemi found herself chuckling and caught the smirk turn into a small grin on the male's lips. "It's a little hard to explain but I'd say you're kind of like a friend… Actually, no. That's going too far. Familiar face? No, too shallow. Acquaintance? Hmmm… yeah, I guess. You're not a good acquaintance to have but you're an acquaintance nonetheless. But you can see me at most, a friend, alright?" concluded the woman complicatedly.

"A friend?" he smirked again.

"At the most! Now just go take a bath!" she said a bit too forcefully out of discomfort.

He giggled impishly, "Why of course, my friend," Izaya teased.

"You're never going to let me hear the end of that, are you?" she grumbled.

"Nope." Izaya popped the 'p' as he skipped to his bedroom with an en-suite inside. Even when he closed the two doors, Izaya kept up his grin. But was it real? This newly found relation, it was bad news. So why? Why was he grinning like that? It couldn't be that he was actually happy about it… Wait… "Shit!" he violently whispered.

* * *

**Author speaking... sorry for not updating in a while... I will give no excuses! Just more chapters to make up for the lost time. **


	16. The Game

**Author here! I uploaded yesterday so I'm warning you to read chapter 15 first! I was gone for a while so making up for it... hee~**

* * *

The rice was finally cooked but too hot to mold into shapes. And Maemi could only make one filling with the limited items in the male's fridge. Did he never eat? Seriously. No wonder why he was so thin. She searched the pantry for the fifth time. Glancing at all the coffee jars filled with different coffee beans. Maemi shook her head. _'That's what he lives off. Coffee. That's it.'_ she thought dryly. _'What an idiot.'_

Any tension that was between two had mysteriously disappeared. Why was Jane-chan so talented at calming people down? The woman could hardly handle her own emotions yet… It was as if she'd throw her feelings away and focus on… someone else… him. _'What an idiot.'_ "Jane-chan! Is it ready, yet?" he called offhandedly from his comfortable position on the couch. Izaya was getting hungrier and hungrier by the second. He guessed it was the smell of food lingering in the air that triggered this long-lost feeling.

"No, not yet!" she called back. She sucked the bowl of rice in the freezer to cool it down and joined him at the couches. He was fiddling with the shogi board or either playing a really complex game. "The rice needs to cool," she sighed out slumping down at the same time. Her body felt like jelly from dragging those hired ruffians around. Damn this guy.

"You shouldn't put hot items in the freezer~" he told her, shaking his head in disapproval.

"It doesn't matter when you don't have anything in it in the first place. It can't melt anything that way." The woman popped her socked feet up and hugged her knees. She had taken off her black jacket leaving her in washed out jeans that frayed at the ankles and a long-sleeved dark gray shirt that draped off her torso awkwardly. The shirt was probably meant to be fitting but she got it in a size that was three times bigger than what it should be. Izaya didn't realize before but looking back, she seemed to always wear plain baggy clothing. Perhaps, she didn't like showing her figure or standing out in the crowd.

"Yes, but it makes the fridge work harder," he finally responded.

"Too bad. It's doing its job," she pouted in argument. Was she angry about something? Hmm… more likely just tired. Oh, wait. Right. The gang members that broke into her house. That was today… Why did it feel like that was ages ago? Izaya chuckled as he took a shogi piece with a white knight. "How do you play this game, anyway?" she asked her in a curious tone looking at the board as if it was an alien.

"Your human mind won't be able to comprehend it," he said simply as he turned the broad around to play the other side. He gazed half-lidded at the positions of the pieces surrounding him, thinking of how the hell to get out of this trapped that he set up for himself. This game had been going on for more than three months now. Of course, he was playing on and off but that was a long time. Was it finally over? Did he lose and win? '_Oh wait!'_ Izaya spotted a window. _'That's how!'_ he thought as he reached for his knight.

"Try me," Maemi urged to prove him wrong with the way he was patronizing her… but looking at the broad again and had to somewhat agree with his doubts.

Blinking out of his thoughts, Izaya looked up from the broad and gave his signature smirk. Asking the woman whether knew Chess, Othello or Shogi was a complete waste of time for her answers were all hesitant 'N-O's'. As expected. Izaya saw the shame in her eyes that she didn't even know one. When the hell was she going to take out those grey contact-lenses? Her amber or, what Izaya preferred to call, golden irises were much pleasurable to stare into- … That was another weird thought, wasn't it?

"How do you expect to understand my game when you don't even know the originals?" he ironically questioned shaking his head and raising his hands up in a shrug.

"Mmm~! Then you can explain the normal versions too," the brunette pouted.

"We'd be here all night, Jane-chan," he said smirking like a fox at the woman eagerness. Hmm… Maybe, if he skimmed over the basics then…

They sat in silence for a minute, them both thinking, "I don't have work tomorrow." Maemi told him.

"But I do."

She raised an eyebrow prompted. He didn't elaborate. "You mean messing with humans or are you just trying to get away from me again?" the woman drawled. If Izaya had been sipping on a coffee then he probably would have choked. Would have been a good sight to see. "Come on. Please," she said genuinely interested. "Besides, we need to pass the time for the rice somehow," the woman reasoned.

Izaya grinned then started with the basics of chess. What the pieces were called, where they could move, how to attack and the goal of trapping the king. He did the same with shogi and Maemi was confused about how similar they were yet not similar at all. Especially with how you could 'drop' the pieces you previously captured from your opponent. Maemi had nearly forgotten the rice in the freezer, she jumped up and made Izaya continue as she molted the rice around the soy tuna filling. Othello was by far the easiest to understand.

"Get everything?" the male questioned.

The woman glanced up in thought, her hands halting in balling the rice. "Yeah, I think so. It's a lot of information though."

"Ready for the fun part?" he jumped up on the bench to sit. His house, his rules she guessed; suppressing the urge to tell him, 'Get off the damn table.' She giggled to herself as she nodded in agreement, handing him a rice ball. Why hadn't he started eating agers ago? Izaya accepted and bit into it, "Hmm~ Yummy," he said with his mouth full. "Okay!" the male exclaimed once he finished the whole rice ball. "Obviously, my game is a mix of all three games. Like shogi and chess, the aim is to capture your opponents King. Black takes the first move since shogi and Othello plays by that rule. And simply because I prefer black," he added.

"Agreed," she replied simply.

Izaya chuckled before continuing, "The shogi and chess pieces alternate in their, somewhat, normal placements on the board. Left to right in row 'a', the assignments are Lance, Knight (chess), Silver General, Queen, King (chess), Gold General, Silver General, Knight (chess) and Lance. It's the same numbering on row 'i' for white. The shogi Rook on 8b, chess Bishop 7b, chess Rook 3b and shogi Bishop on 2b. The rest of the squares on row 'b' are empty. The placements are the opposite for row h. In row 'c' they are all pawns, four being shogi pawns and five chess pawns. You remember the difference between the two, right?" he rambled taking another rice ball.

"Yeah, shogi pawns attack forward while chess pawns attack diagonally?" she finished, a bit unsure now.

"Yep!" He clapped and finished the Japanese treat in his hands. "I'll show you the board once you're done here." She agreed still molding the rice balls into shape. Maemi couldn't help but smile at the way he was being so enthusiastic… about something normal. Well… normal-ish. "In row 'd' there is a black Othello piece on 7d and a white on 3d… kind of. But anyway, to the rules." He bit the rice ball and after chewing a few time he swallowed. Wait… When did he take another? "All of the different pieces act the same as they would in their original game. What I mean to say is that the Knight still moves and jumps in an L shape, as well as the Queen exploring the board, Lance moving as many times as it wants forward without being blocked, so on and so forth. The shogi side-boards work the same too, allowing you to use your opponents captured pieces as your own… unless they capture it back. In these shogi capturing and dropping broads, there are three Othello pieces in each at the beginning, you may drop them in whenever you see fit. And unlike the shogi pieces, you don't have any limitations to where you can drop them because they don't exactly sit in a square more so on the line. It will make sense when I show you," he told her, observing her confused face. "When two Othello pieces surround either side of the opponent's piece or pieces, like in the original game, it becomes your piece as if you had captured it in shogi. But~ there's a catch. In my game, it only lasts one move for each piece turned traitor by the Othello pieces. And after the enemy regains the piece or pieces in question, it unlocks the ability of the Othello pieces. Though it loses that ability when it is promoted. But if it's caught after being promoted then it can gain the special power again. The promotion area is 'a' and 'b' for white, 'h' and 'i' for black. Like in Othello, the pieces can't move, only flip over to show either black or white. To use them again either your opponent captures them or you do; capturing your own piece to drop them somewhere when needed. You can do the same to his, of course. Oh, but when you capture your opponent's chess pieces you can't drop them in as your own like the Othello and shogi pieces. Hmm… I think that's practically the basics. Any questions?" he asked chomping into the rice ball, quickly finishing it.

"Errr…" Maemi finished rolling up the last rice ball. "Don't some of the chess pieces look the same all the way around? How do you tell whether it's your piece or your opponent's when you've turned it into yours? And how do you tell which pieces have gained the ability of the Othello pieces? With so much going on…" the girl trailed trying to understand. Izaya laughed a little and pointed to his the side of his head as a clue. Instantly, she groaned, "You have to remember?" the girl complained as she went to the sink to wash her hands.

"Aha!" he nodded. Taking the last rice ball she just made, he was about to bite but he realized, "Did you get to eat?"

She chuckled, "Kind of, I got halfway through dinner when those guys showed up," Maemi informed him. However, somehow, she couldn't spit it at him bitterly and say, 'It's your fault!' either though it was. Izaya blinked then slid a grin on, holding the rice ball out to her. "Ah- No, that's okay." She was surprised by his gesture.

"Take it, silly." He giggled again, "I'm full anyway." Izaya patted his stomach.

She took it from him, a grain of rice sticking to his index finger. Izaya licked it off still smiling. "Thanks." In that moment the woman lived up to the name she gave the girl- herself, Maemi, a truthful smile. She took a bite and tasted satisfying saltiness. "Hmm… it is good," she said in somewhat surprise. After all, she did kind of whack it together in a hurry.

"Do you think you'd be able to play against me, Jane-chan?" Izaya asked though he knew she wouldn't, not to be cocky or anything.

"I'd be able to play but not win," she said covering a full mouth with her free hand.

The male laughed a little, "That's what I meant, Jane-chan."

"Oh… Then no." Izaya chuckled more at that. At least she was being honest. Maemi let him laugh as she finished the rice ball. "But, I'd love to play anyway. It might be a quick game for you but if you think about you still end up with the same outcome when you play by yourself. You win. Soo…?"

The male smirked, "Sure. If you're up to the challenge then why not?" The raven head hopped off the bench and they both went back to the couches to play. He, of course, reset the game since he was in the middle of one but he'd continue it some other time. Izaya remembered the pieces placements well with all the years of practice.

The game went pretty terribly on Maemi's end while the male shrieked in hysterics because of how "funny" it was. He didn't give her any hints except telling the woman that she "can't do that" when she placed shogi or chess pieces where they couldn't go. Like her bishop going forward. "No, no, no~ Jane-chan," he'd say all-knowingly, "They only move di-

"Diagonally! That's right!" she exclaimed in realization, "Ohhh~ My plan is ruined," Maemi whined having the urge to rip out her hair. Izaya made no effort in holding back his amusement crazy cackling filling the large apartment. Maemi thought about her limited options and put the chess piece down to pick another.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Jane-chan? Once you touch a piece, you have to use said piece." He told her for the hundredth time.

"But it was by mistake!" Maemi complained and tried to argue again.

The male giggled, "As said. There's no room for mistakes in this game," he whispered mischievously. She grumbled at that. Maemi was epically losing, and though she expected it she still didn't like it. But it was a lot more annoying with the male snarky comments. The woman moved her chess bishop where she suspected it would be safe. Izaya smirked and dropped in her shoji rook he had captured. She took the bait hesitantly and he advanced with his promoted lance. "Much like real life, once it's done it can't be undone. Check." She made a nervous quiver and moved her king to the left. Izaya had his turn then it was the woman's again. And like before she made the awful mistake of moving the only piece that was protecting her King. "And checkmate," Izaya said placing down a queen. "That was rather silly, Jane-chan. Did you even look?" he asked patronizingly.

"Wha-?" Maemi looked down to the board again. Seeing how he placed his pieces and her ex-pieces into a battle-like formation, "Ahh!" she yelped girlishly, "Nooo~"

Izaya laughed at the almost animated reaction. "Well, that was easy."

"Shoosh!" Maemi commanded in annoyance, "So that's what you were doing this whole time! Damn it! Why didn't I notice?" she muttered to herself.

"I was intentional keeping you busy and opening up your guards," Izaya noted only gaining stink-eye from the woman.

Maemi sighed leaning back and checked the time. "I still lasted a while."

The raven burst out into more hysterics. "Are you kidding!? Two hours is nothing, Jane-chan!" he couldn't help but laugh! "That was the shortest game I've ever had!" Izaya's giggling fit was slowly coming to an end. He sighed in what seemed to be relief. All the while Maemi sat on the couch stiffly almost pouting like a child. "Naww~ Don't be a sore loser now, Jane-chan~" Izaya teased.

"I-I'm not," the female retorted.

Izaya gazed at her annoyed sulk, "Hmm~ Though it may have been an easy game, it was still fun," he told her.

The woman blinked up at him and his smiling face, then back down feeling the tension in her face smoothen, "That's good," she whispered.

* * *

**The author again! Okay... I have no idea how Izaya's game is actually played. I don't even know if Ryohgo Narita knows how to play it. ****This was just from my imagination! No fact what so ever... I don't think you really ever get to find out how to play it in the visual novel, though I have not read it yet. So correct me if I'm wrong! If you have no idea how to play any of the games, you're probably very confused. I tried to make it make sense. And to me, it sounds like an awesome game that's ridiculously difficult. Suits our beloved Izaya very much, I'd say. **


	17. A Sly Grin or a Pleasant Smile

For a few seconds, there was silence. Izaya gazed at her sudden change in behavior. Jane-chan was smiling again. That smile, which was small but oh so sincere. "Hey, Jane-chan?" the raven piped up. She hummed in response. "… Tell me, do you feel affection to the beings you didn't kill in the past?"

Her tired eyes flickered up at him, then Maemi's smile turned a little shy, "N-No, not particularly," she evenly denied but under those crimson eyes, the woman knew she wasn't fooling him. Maemi let her gaze fall upon the hybrid boardgame, "That obvious, huh?"

"Yep," he widely smirked.

She squirmed in her seat, "Is it weird?"

Izaya chuckled a little before answering, "Yep," he repeated.

"… Sorry… It's just- well…" the female struggled. "Can I explain it to you?" she cautiously asked unable to decide if this was a good idea or not.

"Of course! I'd love to know!" he exclaimed way too enthusiastically.

"Umm… Okay," the unknown woman said awkwardly glancing to the side. She took a moment to form words that at least made a little sense. "After learning so much about certain individuals and watching them, I know how they act, think, who they are as a person. They are either chunks of shit," the pale female spat, "Or precious little lost souls." Maemi's sweet and near to inaudible tones were naturally switched back on. "I know and understand their pain. What they feel becomes what I feel… somehow. It makes it seem like I'm close to them. As if they were my friend or little brother or… a sister…" the female fell silent. Sister…

"But they don't even know you exist," Izaya told her outright.

Anyone else would have felt like they'd been slapped in the face, but the brunette simply agreed. "Yeah, I know." It was probably for the best to stay that way… "But when I come into contact with them I can't help myself." She sighed heavily remembering when she bumped into Masaomi, not to mention the ordeal with the male in front of her. "I guess it's my maternal side," the woman chuckled. To be honest, it wasn't even a joke.

The raven took note of the way her eyes shifted from his, "Jane-chan, I don't really understand. I know a bunch of humans and I love all of them but I don't feel any attachment to any of them. Explain that part," he mildly instructed.

"Your definition of 'love' is very twisted. It's sad really… It means no one has ever loved you or showed you how…" A dull ring played in both their ears, "Sorry. That was a bit uncalled for…"

Izaya found the woman's comment to be kind of true but fuck saying that. At least not directly. "I really don't understand why humans don't love me back," Izaya proclaimed lightly, "I mean, I give them so much attention! What's not to love?" the raven enthused hiding the fact that his words were a question.

"Hmm… You give them too attention," the woman gingerly enlightened.

"Again, what's wrong with that?" Izaya countered so sure of himself. Jane-chan locked her eyes with his and stood up. "Jane-chan?" The brunette ran to her jacket hanging on the other end of the lounge's armrest. Rummaging through it she found a contact-lenses container to pinch out the color contact in her eyes and drop them inside the solution filled-container. She came prepared, surprisingly. Once she was finished, the golden-eyed woman seated herself right next to the raven making sure she was directing her frame to him. Giving him her full attention. "Ah… Jane-chan-"

"You'll get angry if I go into detail," she warned him. "Can we talk about it another time?" Maemi whispered.

Izaya blinked at her drooping eyes and the way she bit the inner of her lip, "But why?"

The raven could have sworn the woman turned ever so slightly pink, "Well, I don't want to ruin all the giggles and smiles. It's okay if we talk seriously but… I tried hard to brighten the mood, you know? I don't want to drag it down again," Maemi explained softly, garnet eyes gawking at her all the while. "So… is it okay?" she asked again.

"Hmm… Yeah, I suppose," the male sighed out, utterly surprising her that he didn't push on and on until- "But…" there was that 'but' again. "Why did you randomly take your contacts out?" he questioned, again throwing her off.

"Oh. Umm… I thought you'd end up forcing me to tell you and if you did that, and if you told you then I'd probably cry," the brunette hurriedly muttered. "If you cry with contacts in then you need to avoid rubbing your eyes and after crying, you should replace them," she summarized still speaking abnormally fast, obviously wanting to get her explanation over and done with.

"Ooo~ Now I really know," Izaya chirped.

"No! Some other time," she declined harshly. He whined with a loud hum, pouting in the process. The woman's hardened face gradually melted and a chuckle seemed to want to escape her lips. She left it free, leaning on the couch's headboard. Maemi felt her eyes getting heavy again. Relaxing there, it was so easy just to close her eyes.

"Are you tired, Jane-chan?" she heard the raven ask from beside her.

"Yeah… I had a looong day," she mumbled.

"You want a coffee so we can play another game?" Izaya abruptly offered, for some reason he felt wide awake. It had nothing to do with the fact he wanted to talk more with this human. Nope. Not what so ever. Nor that he was glad he could finally natter away to her without feeling he was conversing with someone else, thanks to those pesky contact-lenses that covered her golden almond eyes.

She female stifled a laugh, "Okay," Maemi whispered with her glowing eyes half-lidded.

"Then go make it," the male teased.

"Mmm~ But you're the one who-

"I was kidding, Jane-chan," the male said, though, it was somewhat untrue. "Don't fall asleep." He hopped up and skipped to the kitchen.

_'Not promising anything.'_ The woman thought as she sunk even lower on the couch. Looking up at the bland high ceiling, she blinked slowly until she couldn't open her eyes anymore.

After a little clatter in the kitchen, Izaya came back with one mug in his hands. He knew she'd fall asleep. And with the woman's eyelids concealed her golden flaked irises; her slow yet deep breathing that made her chest rise and fall steadily. It was evident that he was correct. Dark chocolate strands of hair fell gracefully down ending at her defined collarbones that were being flaunted from the way her over-sized shirt that had slipped off her shoulder a bit.

"Jane-chan~" Izaya whispered to the woman but she didn't stir. The male sipped on his coffee wondering what to do now. And should he leave her like that? On the couch still sitting with her head dangling to the side. She'll most certainly have a crookneck in the morning. "Hmm…" Well, he did carry his sisters to bed on a few occasions way back when right? "Meh," he shrugged, setting down his mug and slowly aiming toward the sleeping woman. He touched her slightly exposed right shoulder with the tips of his fingers, only for the girl to flinch away. Izaya's eyes flickered up to see if she was awake. But surprisingly, Jane-chan was still asleep, apparently too worn out to wake up.

Normally she was on such high alert but she really let go of that tonight, huh? Izaya thought it would make more sense for her to build it up rather than throwing it away as she did. Why did she trust him enough to sleep so casually like this, anyway? Izaya guessed it was because he didn't do anything 'bad' last time… but, it also had to have been because of her strange, abnormal affection towards him…

A friend, huh? What did that even mean? If the woman meant anything on the lines of his relation to Shinra, then fuck that. But, so far, this experience of… acquaintanceship was completely different. Oh, who cares! Titles and that shit didn't matter.

_'__Jane-chan is simply just a human,__' _the raven reminded himself.

Once her body became relaxed, the raven tried again and caressed the soft skin. Wait, why didn't he just go for the covered part of her… Izaya pinched at the neckline pulling it up to its proper-ish placement.

"Mm…" she stirred.

"Shhh… Jane-chan. It's just me. It's called bedtime not couchtime for a reason you know," he mildly scolded her in barely a whisper. Though the female was sleeping, Izaya kept whispering to her. "You don't have to wake up. I'm just going to move you, okay? Because… you're kind of in the way here." It wasn't really true there was plenty of room in his apartment but it didn't matter if it was a shitty excuse. She was asleep after all.

Izaya slowly and gently scooped the girl up in… bridal style… That term didn't sit well with the male. It was the easiest way to carrying her is all. Izaya chuckled at how heavy Jane-chan actually was. She didn't look like it but he supposed the weight came from her muscle mass rather than fat. And it wasn't like he was struggling to hold her, it was just a little unexpected. "Then again, you did manage to take down those ruffians," he mentioned looking down on the girl. Her head now rested comfortably against Izaya's chest. If the male was interested he could easily see down the female's baggy shirt to her small cleavage. So obviously…

… He was looking. Though, he pulled his stubborn eyes up and away from the woman. Izaya ignored how his lips had slightly fallen apart at the sight. Forcefully pressing his lips back together, he headed toward his bedroom hidden away in the hallway upstairs. Sure, he had guest rooms but they didn't have beds already setup. It wasn't like Izaya had guests that often… or ever… to do so.

Looking ahead he had to dread the difficulty of opening the door with his foot. Once the door was finally ajar, the male moved the blankets out of the way and carefully placed the woman down. Maybe she thought he was a pillow again because it was proving quite the struggle to let go; for the woman had started carelessly hugging his arm. Izaya laughed at how much of a child she could be. "You need to let go, Jane-chan. I'm not tired yet." As expected, she still didn't answer. Nor did she grip tighter like in those romance movies or anime. "Make up your mind, Jane-chan. Jeez~" he teased, "Don't want to be touched and yet you hug me like no big deal… You're a weird one, huh?" Jane-chan, as if she listened, slowly turned over on her other side, letting Izaya's arm free. "So that's your choice? How mean~" He giggled and covered her with the blankets. After sitting on the edge of the bed for a while, staring at her, Izaya left… But only to turn off the lights outside. He soon came back and joined the woman in the king-sized bed. His coffee could wait until morning… wait… it already was morning. He thought about placing a pillow between them but then he wouldn't have one for his head sooo… Oh well…

As soon as he lied down his eyes felt heavy. That rarely ever happened. He turned to face Jane-chan sleeping what looked to be soundly. It was the first time Izaya only needed to lie in bed for ten minutes to fall asleep. And soon, the bed may as well have been just a double with the pair's proximity.

* * *

At the sound of a phone going off, Maemi jumped awake in an unfamiliar environment. She rapidly shot up into a sitting position with her knee up. Her heart was pumping as her eyes darted around the room. On the plus side, the woman noticed she wasn't tired up or unclothed or… sore.

"You okay there, Jane-chan?" a silky sleepy voice giggled out.

Maemi looked down at the voice's direction, "Am I… in your bed?" she asked relaxing the tiniest bit. Being in Izaya's bed was better than being in… someone else's… But it still wasn't okay.

"I gotta answer this," the male easily dodged the question, holding the ringing phone up as an excuse. Izaya pressed the accept button and held it to his ear. "Hello?" he tried to hold back a yawn. Maemi felt her heart slow to a more normal pace and she hesitantly lied back down, feeling a bit giddy from all the oxygen she just inhaled. She could hear the voice on the other end of the line.

"Oh! Izaya? Whoops! I clicked on the wrong name," a male's voice said.

"Well, that's very unlike you~" Izaya commented flipping over on his stomach.

"Who is it?" the woman questioned in a whisper.

"O- You have a girl with you?" the voice said in utter shock.

"Yes," Izaya said knowing what this pervert would think… but just for good measure. "You woke us up, Doc." The voice gasped in response; Izaya had to clasp a hand to his mouth to muffle his laughs. Maemi harshly narrowed her eyes, easily picking up on the insinuation.

"Does that mean you finally lost you virginit-

"Are you going to call the person you were meant to or not, Shinra?" The raven head had stopped laughing. He wasn't even a virgin. Izaya just never told anyone about that one time… that one time with Mikage… Urg… Sometimes he wished he could forget.

"Oh, Izaya, don't be so ashamed to be a cherry boy," Maemi 'consoled' patting him on the head, though that irritated-smirk couldn't be mistaken. Revenge. Izaya couldn't make up his mind whether it was better that these two didn't know or not. If Shinra knew, he'd probably ask for every fucking detail… No thanks.

"Oh… So it didn't happen," Shinra muttered. "Well, hope for the best next ti-

Izaya forcefully hung up the phone. _'He can be so annoying!'_ he irritably thought, turning to face the female beside him. But instead of that vengeful smirk, she now had a sad smile on.

"I wish I was a cherry girl," the woman spoke in a soft voice that could easily be broken.

She woman was letting down her guard again. An idiotic move really. Izaya thought about pushing her to that breaking point. It would be so effortless; for she, herself, had already gotten so close to the edge. She had set herself up for it and yet… Izaya could hear the ticks of a clock somewhere off in the distance. The sound went on and on, but he didn't push her. The male stared at her a little longer then stood up, "Want a coffee?"

"… Yeah," she nodded lifting the blankets off her. Maemi was thankful for the subject change but she needed to ask, "Hey… Did you carry me here?"

Izaya paused slightly before answering, "Why yes, I did! What? Would you have preferred to freeze on the couch?"

"Yes, I would have," she jokingly snubbed him thrusting her nose in the air.

"Oo! Ouchy! My feelings!" the male exclaimed, pressing a hand to his heart. Hearing her giggle lightly, Izaya again found himself staring at her and for whatever reason… he couldn't stop his faked pout from turning into a grin.

* * *

**Okay... I know in an earlier chapter that it was 'a new experience for Izaya to be sleeping next to a woman'... But just because Mikage and Izaya totally did the dirty (in my opinion) it doesn't necessarily mean they slept in the same bed after or before the deed.**

**Again... I don't think the audience gets to find out how or if it happened in the original, but I have my own thoughts about it. Not in a dirty way! Creative thoughts and twists that I will share in the story later on. Remember that this fanfic is rated Mature for a number of reasons...**


	18. Problem After Problem

Thanks to Izaya not knowing the meaning of food, the pair were driven out of the complex to get something to eat. Both of them knew of a café nearby but neither sort out the on a place. Even so, it seemed as though they had an unsaid agreement judging but the way they headed in the same direction.

Venturing out in Shibuya was something that she didn't like it at all. Shibuya Crossing was **full** of people. Having to weave through all the fucking morons was highly annoying. The constant bumps in the shoulders and the occasional elbow in the ribs was enough for Maemi or rather Kyoko to explode.

Her fuming only gained chuckles from Izaya who was having no problem dodging all the people coming his way. He'd hear the mock-raven head hissing, "Fucking watch it!" at some humans bumping into her. Or the one time she yelled, "You have eyes! Fucking use them!" when she wasn't even taken note of - the man, being too busy with whatever was on his mind - Izaya could have sworn Kyo-chan muttered a quiet, "I may as well rip your fuckin' eyes out." Izaya had a small debate in his head whether Kyoko's words were empty or not.

_'__Empty,' _he opted. _'Well, maybe she'd land a solid hit on him but that's it…' _Peering at the woman's cold glare, Izaya added another, _'Maybe more.'_ After pondering a little longer still weaving through the crowded streets, "Jane-chan, I'm not even hungry~" the male piped.

"That's not my na- Don't call me that in public!" she hissed, her cut off sentence being taken note of by the crimson-eyed male. "You should be hungry," she continued. "You only had rice balls and two cups of coffee yesterday." Izaya opened his mouth, "I saw the mugs in the sink! So don't deny it. If I wasn't there you would have only had the bloody coffee!" she huffed.

"So?" Izaya said easily.

"Wha-" the woman was at a loss of words for a second. "God, you're a fucking moron," she drawled. "You need to look after yourself, Izaya," She rolled her eyes, her words were more like a commandment; something Izaya was never really fond of.

"You really are sounding like a mother. Nag, nag, nag. Really, Ja- Ma-" Izaya stuttered for a bit deciding on what name to use. "Kyo-chan!" he finally managed.

"Still not my name," the woman muttered. That stupid nickname was really getting on her nerves.

"You know, you've been in a bad mood ever since we left my apartment. What's wrong with you?" He tried to think of a reason for her erratic behavior but… nothing came to him except the people nudging into her. But it could also get busy in Ikebukuro, why would it bother her now? She was all smiles before. What possibly could have happened? "Don't be such a stick in the mud, Kyo-chan," Izaya teased.

"I'm not your mom. I'm not a stick in the mud. And I'm not in a bad mood." The woman tried to hold back her annoyance knowing it would only encourage him like the child he was.

"Oh right! You said to see you as a friend," the male went on.

"At the most," she added. "An acquaintance, really. And a shitty one, at that."

"But Kyo-chan~ We've slept in the same bed twice." Izaya held two fingers up wiggling them before pocketing his hand back in his fur-trimmed coat. "How is that only acquaintanceship?" He giggled at the glare he earned by the sometimes harsh woman. To be honest, Izaya was even giving himself a kick. They weren't friends. Relationships such as that only got in the way of being rational-

"I didn't ask for it the second time!" her cold hiss was enough for the people twenty feet in the woman's radius to shiver violently. However, even though it was aimed at Izaya, the chilly blast seemed to jump over him. Or maybe, it was blocked by a shield. Whatever it was, it turned into a blade as the male smirked widely.

"Says the one that was snuggling up to me~" he sang not being able to resist the temptation.

The woman made sure to mentally throw daggers at the impossibly-irritating male, before turning away and staying completely silent. A few moments later, it was a relief to finally get out of the crowd and sit in a café. Slumping down in the wooden seat the unknown female was familiar with. When here, she'd always pick this particular spot. If it was taken, she remembered how she'd wait until the table was cleared.

Izaya took the seat across from the woman, sitting down a great deal more gracefully. He had his all-knowing smirk growing on his face. The raven recalled noticing a woman pretending to read in the exact seat Jane-chan was in, as she watched him nearly every morning getting his long-black. She woman had 'hazel' eyes and near-to-black hair that was loosely braided, stubborn strands falling out. His stalker. _'She remembered this place from back then? So that's why we didn't have to say where we were going.' H_e giggled a little at the thought. Once they ordered something to eat, they waited in silence. Maemi's mind was too busy, though no one would guess with the way Kyoko's body was slouched and so utterly relaxed.

Maybe it was because of the convenient placing of the café or the group followed them, Maemi doubted that though from what they were saying. The men from last night had walked in, or three of them that is. Wow. That was last night? The scrawny guy, the one who saw her and man in the car. The woman supposed the big guy was in… recovery. His head was bleeding… oh god. She didn't kill him, did she? Shit! She should have asked Izaya how he was doing. Oh, but he was a fucking asshole anyway! Oh but-

"Damn that guy!" the plastic-faced guy said. It seems they hadn't noticed the pair as they sat down at a booth two spaces away to the right. "And that chick! She stole my knif-

"Shh!" the skinny one hushed Izaya's look alike, Nakura.

"Don't shut me up, shrimp! You're the one who messed up first!" he hissed.

"I couldn't see anything!" 'Shrimp' tried to defend himself.

"Then why didn't you turn on the fucking lights, you moron!" Nakura had seemed to have long lost his patience. And the odd group's fatigued state, with black bags under their bloodshot eyes, only added to their irrational actions.

"Because if she was asleep and the lights were suddenly turned on, of course, she'd wake up!" the small-fry gritted out, voice getting louder with each word. It was as if he'd said the line over and over but the others didn't listen. Understandably, if the woman might add.

"Shut up, you two! We're in public!" the third, Kumaru if memory served right, said through his teeth. His voice was harder to listen in on.

"Whatever!" Nakura said. "Are you in or not?" he harshly asked having a serious face on but Kyoko and Izaya saw the cowardice behind the 'Leader' façade. Kumaru with his dark green eyes stared at Nakura, lips opening but closing at the sound of the scrawny male's drawling tones.

"… If we can't take down a little girl then how are we going to get rid of Izaya?"

Izaya's smirk grew wider in interest. _'Finally making your move then, Nakura-kun~'_ he thought with glee.

"She wasn't a little girl," the third said, "She was definitely older than nineteen."

"Exactly," the lookalike exclaimed jumping at a way to convince them. Even after the years of imitating Izaya, on the raven's his orders, Nakura still hadn't picked up on the original's manipulative charm. "Izaya lied. He wasn't messing with her. He was messing with us!" Nakura scowled, "He's always been that fucking way!"

"No, no, no~ Nakura-kun!" Izaya chirped gaining wide eyes from the group their heads snapping towards his tones. "I wasn't 'messing' with only one side. I was messing with both!" With a bounce in his step, he walked to their booth.

Maemi lightly facepalmed herself, shaking her head, _'Does he want them to try to kill him! Seriously!'_ she thought indignantly.

"Wait… isn't she-" Kumaru had spotted Kyoko but was cut off at another's surprised and wary voice.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Nakura gasped. From the face he was pulling, Izaya imagined his promised lifetime-toy was cursing at an unfathomable rate in his head. The faked red eyes fell upon the woman in a seat behind Izaya. "With her!" Nakura continued the question and rudely pointed his index finger at the mock-raven. Speaking of which, Nakura's hair wasn't dyed again. Oh well… At least they didn't look too alike standing side by side. It wouldn't agree very well with Izaya if they looked like twins. At the moment Izaya deducted humans would think they were brothers or cousins. When Nakura actually dyed his hair black, he was a superb substitute or… decoy but not too much so that humans couldn't see the differences.

Izaya giggled, easily responding, "Oh nothing much. And you?" he prompted by giving a pointed glance at the adult-wannabe and scrawny human sitting stiffly in the booth, not knowing what to do. Nakura didn't reply; too busy thickly swallowing with a dry throat. Seeing this, Izaya piped up since the other wouldn't. "Oh! That's right! You were recruiting humans to, what was it? 'Get rid' of me?" Izaya's smirk was ever so wide.

"Th-That's… no, we aren't- we…" Nakura struggled to come up with an excuse. He was practically pissing his pants.

"Wow. This guy really is pathetic," the woman plainly stated. Four pairs of eyes – maybe more – following her sounded thoughts, she only stared back eyes half-lidded by a constant knit in her brows. Kyoko couldn't hold her tongue. For some reason, when the brunette changed into different identities it felt natural to be… them… most of the time. And that's how Kyoko was, blunt, cold, without filler and somewhat of a trouble maker. Kyoko licked her dry lips, "I need a cigarette," she said to no one in particular. It was too bad Maemi Shimizu wasn't in the habit of smoking. Kyoko searched through her pockets anyway to only find the dull knife the belonged to the pathetic man. She pulled it out. "Oi, Nakura!" Once the man had his eyes on her again, Kyoko threw the closed pocket-knife to him, "Catch."

"Wha-" he caught his blade in a little stumble.

"Just saying but you might want to get a fucking shaper one. I haven't even used it and I can tell it's blunt as shit," she spat seeming to need to add a curse word in every sentence at least once. Her grey eyes were hardly ever fully opened but with the further narrowing, the woman looked even more menacing.

"Kyo-chan~ Don't steal the stoplight," Izaya wagged his ringed finger turning his back on Nakura. Kyoko saw the temptation in Nakura's eyes but, instead of stabbing Izaya in the back, literally, he ran for the exit. The two males followed Nakura's lead and stiffly left the café, not having bought anything.

Hearing the hurried footsteps, Izaya turned and couldn't help but laughed, "So predictable… So human."

"So fucked up," Kyoko added. After a moment, she asked, "You're just letting them go?"

"Yep… for now," Izaya chirped.

* * *

The storm-grey-eyed woman was disgruntled that she had to make her way back to her house on foot, thanks to her not having any ID for Kyoko to get on a train. She destroyed all of her past selves' ID cards except for one, Natsuki Oshiro. This woman was over the legal age, just so Maemi could buy some alcohol when she felt like it. The woman just thought it would be handy. Enjoying a couple of drinks was nice once in a while. She somewhat wondered what it would be like to be totally wasted but that thought was cut off by another. The female realized that so far she hadn't used Natsuki for alcohol supplies at all yet. She was lying low for the three months of her escape on purpose, but she didn't understand why she hadn't done it yet. The unknown woman guessed she just forgot up until pulling Kyoko out. It was like Maemi's innocent mind was becoming her own. Not that she wasn't used to that.

"You have a creepy look on your face, Kyo-chan," said Izaya playfully. She still had the wig on as they had only arrived at her home not too long ago. Wait. Why the hell did he come with her? The unknown woman didn't respond still unnecessarily stirring the coffee she was making him. She wasn't ignoring him on purpose though. "Kyo-chan?" The male blinked, "Jane-chan~" he whispered in a tune.

"Hmm?" she finally responded, though it was still a little absent. Izaya broke out into a fit of giggles that got her full attention. "What?" she blinked. It seemed she was back to being… her.

Grinning in amusement, Izaya asked teasingly, "Do you prefer to be called 'Jane-chan' or not?"

The woman hummed in thought, "A name is a name." She shrugged not really caring for what he had to say.

"I think you mean 'a title is a title.'" Izaya corrected or at least in mind. She only gave a confused look; probably not a prompt to continue but Izaya took it as one. "You have one name and one name only. Your original name. You may give yourself all these different titles but they aren't you, whoever you are. You know this but you keep hiding behind your titles to run away from every 'bad' thing that you've done. Tell me, you kept Kyoko's face because you didn't kill anyone with her, right? How many others did you keep just to remind yourself that you're 'not that bad'?" He paused, "Well? How many?"

The woman bit her lip a little harder than someone else would. She took off the short black wig and let her hair fall anywhere it wanted. "I kept four," she answered.

"That's it?" Izaya couldn't help but think it was too much of a random number. The only response he got was a slight nod. "Who are they?"

"Obviously, Kyoko Orojima. A mature woman, Natsuki Oshiro. A teen mute boy, Akira Nakajima. And Shizuka Asahi, she's quite… dull in personally I guess. And yes, none of them has killed anyone." The woman answered with a quivering voice. She never paid much attention to that last irrefutable fact.

"You left one out." The brunette didn't respond to Izaya's comment again. "Maemi Shimizu," he said.

"She doesn't count." The woman knitted her brows faintly and sat down at the dining table along with Izaya, coffee cups in hand.

"Mae-chan definitely counts," Izaya assured with a smirk.

"But she's my current self," the woman argued but it was mainly in confusion.

"Jane-chan… Humans don't refer to themselves as she or he or by their own name. Well, most of the time," Izaya muttered, thinking of the girls who thought it was cute to speak in third-person like in anime. But Jane-chan wasn't one of those annoying high school girls. "If Mae-chan was you then you wouldn't say 'But she's my current self'. You would have said, 'But I'm Maemi Shimizu'." He mimicked her confused state exactly before returning to himself. "See the difference?" Izaya grinned.

"I do but-

"Exactly! **'I'**," he emphasized, "There's **you** peeking through again. Until this morning in public, I didn't realize how much you can change. Or… how much you show yourself to me. It's so interesting! But it's also confusing. Because… you see, it's really **really** hard to tell which of your actions are genuine and which are put on. I knew you were genuinely mad last night but I didn't know if you're threats of killing the group was real or not. And this morning, when you yelled at that random man and said you 'may as well rip his eyes out' or something like that. I knew you wouldn't do it then and there. But to be honest, I really believe you actually wanted to but stopped yourself."

Izaya only stopped speaking for a moment before lightly chuckling, "I still can't decide whether it's a treat to not be able to predict your actions or not. Part of me likes it but I also love to be right. Anyway~ I think I finally get it!" he cheered thrusting up a finger in having the idea. "You don't really act at all because all of the identities you have created and lived as over the years have slowly molded themselves into the original you, becoming part of you. You didn't think I wouldn't pick up on it, did you?" He nodded his head twice before continuing, "Yes. There's, of course, the crazy one who tortures humans because they deserve it. The caring motherly type. One who is quick to temper. The shy reserved one who hates cruelty. The lazy one who is depressed and numb of every feeling. The overly emotional and dependent one. The one that lies to themselves. The lonely girl that wishes to allow her true self to be explored by others. The one that's restricting herself to get close to anyone due to… unfortunate events, as if her wrists were still tied up. And yet, the one who can't help but care for others. Maybe there's even the out-going one who likes to have fun. The cruel and cold one that is, perhaps, prone to self-harm. The one who has suicidal thoughts but never acts upon them because they are too afraid. The one that regrets her whole life; trying her best to make a new, perfect one… But that would never happen. How can a human live happily while running continuously?" Izaya grinned at the unknown woman finally done with his excited rant.

"You're right. It isn't possible." The woman didn't choke on her words, surprisingly. "That's why we are both so unhappy." She shot back mimicking his eye reachless smile, "Izaya, you're talking from experience… not research like what you're telling yourself," she told him simply. The pair stared into each other's eyes blankly, before they both laughed madly. Giggles and cackles filled the little house. There was a strange aura around the pair when their laughing had ceased.

"Jane-chan, if you are thinking that there's more to me than meets the eye, I'm afraid you'll be terribly disappointed," he chuckled.

"The same goes for you to me," she whispered.

Izaya's lips dropped a bit, "That's not true. You're very interesting. I'm not disappointed at all."

The brunette's voice was nearly inaudible, "I allowed you to lie and yet you didn't allow me? That's a little unfair."

"What are you blabbering about now?" Izaya asked carelessly.

"Nothing, nothing at all." She sipped on her coffee and the male did the same. "So, is that the only reason you came here with me? To broadcast your 'amazing' discovery?" she asked ironically.

Before answering Izaya took another sip, "…Maybe~" he sang.


	19. Fucked Up

**Disclaimer: ****I don't like giving spoilers but it's**** these type of chapters that make this story M rated! You have been warned. **

* * *

There wasn't much to say or do between the pair. Not to mention that the woman was intent on staying silent. Coffee cups still in hand, heated up twice yet only halfway emptied, they ended up finding themselves' engrossed in the anime playing in the background. TVTokyo was a strangely satisfying channel to watch for both them. Though, the unknown woman wasn't currently very invested, with her thoughts going wild about Izaya's earlier rant. And now that they had watched three episodes in silence, Izaya was getting restless.

"Jane-chan~" he whined, "I'm bored."

The woman glanced at him in the corner of her amber eye. He was leaning comfortably back, sitting to her right on the white suede couch that thankfully wasn't stained with red. She hadn't cleaned or mopped the floor from the idiots last night but at least there wasn't any mud… or blood. But the coffee table had a broken leg from the big guy half falling onto it. Upon asking about it before, Izaya replied waving a hand, 'He's fine, he's fine,' the male said.

Blinking out of her thoughts, "If you're bored then why are you still here?" she countered sipping from her steaming mug. She could have smirked if not for having their earlier conversation. Wrapping both hands tightly around the coffee-cup, not caring that it was rather hot, she set it back down to her lap.

The male couldn't help thinking she had a good point… "Entertain me!" Izaya childishly commanded giggling at the way her brows instantly furrowed. He made sure his tone was playful like most of the time though, his words were excessively direct; straight to the point. That's what was a little uncharacteristic. Normally he'd bend his speech carefully, calculate every outcome and ensure on receiving the most desirable… How peculiar. "Jane-chan~ Come on! Won't you tell me at least a little about your past?" he continued anyway, somewhat wondering if this would work. It was Jane-chan after all.

The woman stifled an ironic laugh, "If you tell me about your's," she turned her head to him giving him a curl in her lips. And though it reached her eyes, Izaya could tell it was false.

"Now why would I do that?" the raven asked silkily giving her the same expression.

"Exactly," she whispered harshly. "If you wouldn't, then why would I?" the brunette expected silence to follow in her shut down. The unknown woman turned back to the television, obviously still not in the best of moods. All she wanted was to have some time to herself but this total ass next to her wouldn't goddamn leave. No matter how rude the female was or how much she ignored him.

Izaya hummed in thought, "Because I want you to!" The woman rolled her eyes shaking her head incredulously, "Jane-chan? I wanted to ask," he paused, deciding to go with his usual method when wanting something, "Do you trust me?" The question was so simple, but knowing the woman, her answer would be anything but.

The brunette couldn't help feeling like it was a random question but went with it. If she didn't then he'd probably just press on about something else. "In one way yes; but with everything else, absolutely not," she spoke quickly for him not to get the wrong idea, but it was extremely vague.

"Ouchy~ My feelings!" he whined sarcastically. Though, it was different to this morning when they were joking around. The female gazed at him in slight surprise. Did that actually hurt him? She decided not to mention it still pretending to watch the TV screen. "What is that said 'one way', though? Hmm?" he asked.

The woman thought for a moment, glancing at her covered wrists, "I don't think you'd ever hurt me physically," her voice came out more weak and sugary than what she intended. "Mentally, however, you shank me all bloody the time," she added dryly to make up for her stumble. All these damn mushy-mushy feelings of Maemi Shimizu was getting out of hand. Why did Maemi have to be so kind and forgiving? Quite frankly, throwing in some Kyoko would do some good. Or was Kyoko's bad mood just getting to her?

Izaya giggled, "Well of course," he simply agreed, taking a sip. "By 'physically' you mean rape, do you not?" the male asked easily. He had earlier watched Jane Doe bow her head to gaze at or, more appropriately, past the hem of her long sleeves.

"Don't fucking say that word," she didn't shoot him a glare but her eyes had noticeably darkened.

Izaya strategically stayed silent for a few seconds, "Hmm… Hey Jane-chan?" Her golden eyes met his warningly. Casually, the male asked, "Did you ever go home, after?" She quickly looked away and shook her head. It was expected but… "Why not?" The woman brought the coffee to her lips and though it was liquid it was difficult to swallow. "Is your family dead?"

"No," she responded quickly, almost in a panic, "I didn't kill them if that's what you're asking."

"That thought never really occurred to me. Why did you bring that up? Did they do something bad?" his silky whisper crawled into her ears sending shivers up her spine.

This time the female was slow with her reply. She knew what Izaya was doing. He was attempting and succeeding in getting the woman all riled up so she would lose control and practically spew the words out in an emotional overload. She didn't want to be manipulated into telling him; and yet she was fucking falling for it anyway. "… Let's just say I wasn't kidnapped." She tried to hold it back but her bitter feelings about that day were boiling up and she couldn't keep her bloody mouth shut.

Izaya pouted in thought, "I don't understand. You're making it sound like one of your family members did the 'deed' but you say you didn't kill them. But you also said a week ago that you murdered him. How does that work?" he giggled having no problem talking about this subject. Jane-chan bit her lip even harder and shook her head.

"No," she whispered, not wanting to put that much of a stain on her original family-name. "My father didn't do it-

"What about a brother, cousin?" Izaya went on, "Hell, it doesn't even need to be male, no?"

The brunette was back to answering quickly, "I don't have a brother. And I never met any of my cousins. And," she paused, "… He was a male. A man. He was my first kill and I enjoyed every, fucking, second of it." The woman found herself wanting to give a smile. However, immediately felt the wish disappear. She couldn't do it. She couldn't smile. The woman had killed him, and sure, it was good that he was gone and dead. Six feet under long, long, long ago.

She didn't have to be wary of his presences that always seemed hovered over her in the past. She didn't have to feel that queasiness in her stomach and that shutter in her chest whenever the man was around. She didn't have to worry that he'd come up to her and roughly force her around; shoving her to hands and knees. She didn't have to feel his disgusting hands all over her body! Him ripping her clothing off and using the material to muffle her screaming! She didn't have to feel him slamming himself into her as she'd try and resist his continuous abuse! Because it wasn't continuous anymore! She had put an end to it, didn't she? He was DEAD!

And yet… and yet, she still-

"I hate him," the girl whispered face contorting in rage, her eyes reflecting the lights from being glazed over. "I hate him," she repeated it louder and louder again and again. "I hate him so fucking much… But he's dead. I can't make him hurt anymore. I can't get back at him over and over like what he did to me. I should have kept him alive. I should have tied him up, starved him, weakened him, tortured him again and again-" the woman only just realized she was speaking out loud. She looked up at Izaya who was gazing at her like she was the most fascinating creature. Of course, he was. He was just as fucked up as her.

"Does that mean you killed him too fast?" he asked. The room was filled with silence for a while. But Izaya waited, knowing she was going to continuing whether wanting to or not. And he was right.

"I was forced into his room. He asked his men to leave." She whispered ever so quietly; remembered the red curtains, matching bed sheets and the dark cherry wood of the furniture. And the smell of cologne applied much too heavily, "He was living like a king," '_while rest of us were caged and tortured.' _"As usual, I was tired up. And as usual, I fought as much I could." Her hands clenched into shaking fists. "It was actually the second time I broke my left wrist to get out of the restraints."

_Hearing a sickening crack and feeling the familiar pop under her skin, she wiggled her wrist out of the metal constriction. Once free, one cuff around her right wrist while its twin dangled by the small chain, the girl forced her hands to the filthy man's eyes, only getting to rip out one with her good hand. Even so, the weight that was smothering her small frame instantly vanished. She was vaguely aware of the pain coming from her wrist and the other source being between her legs, at her core. For only a moment, she stared at the eyeball in her hand. It was shaking. She was shaking. She faintly heard yelling, too focused on the blood and what she was going to do next. _

_Being there many times before she knew the elder man always kept a blade under the mattress. With her breath hoarse, the brunette snatched it while he was still down. It was a dull blue and dark metal gray flip knife. The man, now on his hands and knees, had previously locked the doors thankfully. Otherwise, his men alerted by his screams would have barged in. They were banging at the door but the girl barely even cared. Once that door was locked, no one could get in or out without its special key._

_Not hesitating, she attacked the groveling man. The feeling of the blade sinking into his lower back was **so** very pleasant. Jane Doe promised herself to forever remember how the knife pierced his skin. How the skin's elasticity stretched under her applying pressure. It stretched more and more until finally it broke and split open. It sunk in welcomingly but after about an inch, it became harder to force the weapon in. Her heart was exploding by the fearful **terror** and the exhilarating **thrill** of finally doing what she imagined for years. Taking the knife out was like wiggling out one of her loose baby teeth after her face was abused by a fist. His fist! _

_While the unclothed man was cradling his bleeding empty eye socket and wounded back screaming on the top of his lungs, the newly teen plunged the blade into his ass. She was aiming for his hole but didn't exactly know where it was. She didn't want to look as she thrust in the knife, not wanting to lose her nerve. But he deserved this! He deserved every fucking second! After torturing her years, she wanted to show him, taint and destroy his body the way he did to her. That's why… The girl looked down to make sure her aim was true. It turned out that she hit just above it and made the gape longer in length. She nearly threw up at the sight but the sound of his screams for help angered her. The rage overpowered her revolution by a hundred, no, by a thousand times! _

_How **dare** he call for help! How **dare** he even scream! HE DIDN'T DESERVE TO SCREAM! _

_The girl stabbed him again and again but he wouldn't stop! It didn't matter if her target was landed or missed. Anywhere! **Anywhere!** As long as she hit him! His pained yells rang in her ears like a constant headache. She threw him over to lie on his back bleeding ghastly amounts. Her breath was labored. As she inhaled, she could smell the hot crimson liquid on him mixing with the perfume. __And she could smell it on herself. The bright red of the sheets was turning darker as his blood ran out of him; as if saying that it didn't want to be in his nauseating body anymore. She gave him one jab with the blade to his manhood and he let out one last howl of pain. He was dying. Tears were leaking from his unharmed eye as he was whimpering like the girls who gave up fighting him. But not her. Not Jane Doe._

_ He had lost… and she had finally fucking won! _

"I pulled him by the hair like what he had done to me. And slowly, I cut his throat making sure that the last thing he saw was me… smiling." She took another sip of coffee, feeling much better about her decision now. "A pretty good story don't you think?" she prompted airily giving a small smile.

"Hmm… More so a fucked up story," Izaya mused sipping his near-to-finished coffee.

"Was that the first time I've heard you swear?" she mused back.

Izaya chuckled. He didn't usually use such profanities unless he wanted to make a point. There were rare occasions such as this, "Well, it was the only way to describe it. 'Messed up' would have been an understatement." He grinned. The woman gave a slight hum of agreement letting the raven chuckle once more. "You're not offended?"

"No, of course not. It is very fucked but… I don't I regret it," she said evenly, contradicting her early words.

Perhaps, recalling how much pain she inflicted onto the repugnant man was relieving in some way. However, she certainly didn't react that way to Adachihara's end… Was it due to actually being personal revenge? His smile widened greatly, "Fascinating." Izaya whispered.

* * *

**Author here! So... I hope no one is scarred too badly. I think violence is okay to go graphic with, right? But sexual assault is an understandably sensitive topic. I want to ****aim more toward graphic to really make the audience understand and feel what this character is going through, but part of me couldn't help but hold back just a bit. **

**Let me know if you'd like me to tone it down a notch or maybe bump it up. **


	20. Looking Back

**Author here! Thank you, thank you to my third reviewer! I couldn't message you back because you're a 'guest' sooo... here will do! (I know I don't need to reply but I just like to) It makes me so happy to know that someone is actually bothered to comment on my work... and a nice one at that! Thank you again to TheOrangeLight and shizuchan... damn I'm bad at remembering numbers... 6? 680? no... (damn have to check)... 510! The hell did I get the 6 and 8 from? Anyway! I'm rambling! Maybe it's the caffeine... Oh well. **

**Disclaimer: This chapter contains similar themes to the last... so be warned. It's not violent though.**

**'Guest'-chan! You asked for me to update and I am here to provide! So, without further ado... I hope you enjoy! **

* * *

Maemi… no, Jane. Jane downed the last sip of her coffee, somewhat regretting just blurting out her first murder in such high detail. But fuck it. Izaya was the one who wanted to know. If he couldn't handle it, that was his problem. Although, from the looks of that wide smirk across his face, it seemed he had no problem with her disturbingly graphic descriptions. "So," Jane said, her tone surprisingly still casual. "Am I going to get anything in return for all that?" she asked.

Izaya hummed for a long time, pressing an index finger to his chin, "Depends on what it is you're asking for."

"Wow," the female laughed a little, "I thought you'd give a straight up 'no'."

The raven grinned staring into the, lacking, contents of his cup. "I would have but," he pause, "You've put in a delightful mood," he slyly told her.

Jane scrunched up her face in almost disgust, "How can- What- But I-" the woman seemed to forget how to formulate sentences, deciding to simply shake her head in disapproval.

Even with her incoherent and unspoken words, Izaya knew exactly what she meant. "Excuse me, Jane-chan. But you're the one who repeatedly **stabbed **the man and I'm merely the listener. Why am I the one that's so despicable? Shouldn't that be you?" he pointed at her. "And let's not forget. Now that you've remembered much pain you forced him to endure, you're in much higher spirits." Izaya let out a small snigger.

The woman froze at the words, opening and closing her mouth several times before finally managing, "I… I am?" she asked. She thought back and realized it was true. "I am," she repeated but this time, it was a statement. The brunette gave breathy laugh that grew into a little chuckle. "It's official… I'm crazy."

* * *

Izaya was on his way home with a skip in his step. Jane-chan had given him quite an exciting story. He didn't expect any of the outcomes he received from that little break in last night. So many things happened he couldn't believe in the minimal amount of time. Maybe it had something to do with how the woman and he stayed up pretty late, just chatting and gaming and… more chatting. Izaya had contradicting feelings about everything that happened but, like with usually every negative feeling he had, the male discarded and undermined it easily. Not to mention distracted himself with other, more important things.

It seemed the woman was a lot uglier on the inside than what he first thought. The male could hear the malicious satisfaction in Jane Doe's tone as she spoke. Izaya recalled how she closed her eyes to lucidly envision inflecting harm upon that man. Her lips twitched every now and then as if deciding whether to frown or smile. In the end, she settled on the latter.

He wondered why it so easy to get her like that. So loose-tongued about everything. Was it that she actually wanted to talk about it? She wouldn't have said anything to anyone at all until now. There's only so much a human can hold back. Maybe that was her limit. The male giggled at the thought.

And what did she mean she wasn't kidnapped? Izaya knew Jane-chan wasn't lying about her father not doing it and that she doesn't have a brother… She didn't say siblings though. Does the unknown woman have a sister or sisters? Oh well… that didn't really matter. It wasn't her family otherwise they'd be dead. The brunette was telling the truth there too. Well, really, it's just that Jane-chan was a foolishly honest person most of the time.

If she wasn't kidnapped, did she go of her own free will? No. That's didn't make any sense. Unless she didn't know what she was getting in to? After all, she only would have been eight-years-old since that was when she was first ra-

_'Don't fucking say that word,' _Jane's words echoed in Izaya's head.

But only for a moment. _'… since that was when she was first raped,' _he briskly finished the thought and continued. But if a human is tricking an eight-year-old into coming with them, wherever they were going, then that is kidnapping. So that couldn't be the case.

Learning Jane-chan's first ever murder only made Izaya even more interested in finding out what happened before and after. Izaya had many clues but he needed to fill in all the empty gaps. Her captor had underlings. His room was luxurious. There were other girls with her who 'gave up fighting,' as Jane-chan put it. Jane was there for five years. They used roped on her first but after she broke her wrist they switched to handcuffs of some kind… assumably.

Who was her captor? Who did she kill next? His underlings? But how many followers did he have? If there were many girls imprisoned, it's only natural to believe he had many men to rely on to keep a watch on the caged so they didn't try to escape. Then again, how girls were there? Jane-chan made it sound like there were a few; more than five, surely. But what were his reasons for keeping the girls? Was he like Adachihara – who bought girls to quench his sexual desires?

The captor was obviously rich by the term "King" that Jane-chan used; so he'd have the funds for buying them. But how did he get rich? Was it something on the side, or… did it have to do with the girls? Was the man selling the girls on the black market? No. It wouldn't benefit him, profit wise. And Jane-chan was there for five years. With her delicate facial features, porcelain skin, and golden flaked eyes; many would assume she'd be one of the first to be sold. Unless he kept his favorites… But a man like that, greedy and lust driven wouldn't want to give any of his 'possessions' away. Izaya had known many humans like him. They were all the same. Boring.

If he wasn't selling the girls then… Izaya only now realized how his skipping had ceased from being in deep thought. The raven stuffed his hands in his pockets and gave it loud hum as he kept his pace steady. If Jane-chan's captor wasn't selling the girls… Wait… Something very dark had clicked in Izaya's mind. The captor wouldn't have to completely sell them. He could just sell their bodies. Not dead of course – there'd be no profit there. Just selling the girls for a moment, to be… alone with the buyer. It would be like prostitution, it's just that it's not self-selling and being unwilling.

Well, that's pretty fucked up… but also a plausible theory.

The place would be like a whorehouse. The man would have been making bulks amount of money that way. Instead of selling the females outright, this way he'd always have 'customers', regular and new. And since he had underlings they'd probably join in on the 'fun' as well. **And** he would have been able to take advantage of the girls himself. Two birds with one stone, they say. Knowing the dark side of the human race, this really wouldn't surprise Izaya Orihara.

Does that mean the captor bought more girls to make more of a profit? Does that mean… he bought Jane-chan… It's not really kidnapping, in the traditional sense, if you're buying someone, right? But even then, doesn't that mean she was stolen but someone else beforehand?… No. Not if the seller was her own parent-

"IIIIIZAAAAYAAAA!" a booming voice split through his thoughts.

Izaya turned to the blonde who was pulling a road sign out of the ground. Ironically, the sign said what he was thinking. _'Stop.'_ He let out a sigh and flipped open his blade. Why now of all times? Izaya wasn't really feeling like annoying Shizu-chan at the moment. Any other time the raven would've jumped at the chance. But dodging metal poles and vending machines was going to be difficult with his thoughts and hypotheses practically drowning him.

Did Jane-chan's parents sell her?

* * *

Jane sat on the white suede couch, unconsciously twirling the dull blue closed blade around in her hand. Now with Izaya gone, her memories seemed to eat away at her. Why did it have to be so easy to recall the feeling the hands all over her body, and hot breath upon her back, chest, neck or ear. Vividly recollect the pain of being stretched opened by those men. Hear their groans of fucking pleasure, while she screamed in excruciating pain!

If she tried to dredge up killing all of them, on purpose to make her 'feel better', was that bad? One way, it was completely a 'yes'. It was revolting, how could she even think that? And then, there's the other side which was an utter 'no', of course, it's okay. They deserved it. They most certainly got-off on remembering raping the girl. So this could be her little way of getting more revenge, even after death.

Black or white? Jane had a habit of only seeing things through this looking-glass. How could something be both? How could something be grey?

Attempting to ignore the memories flooding her brain and the anger and hatred that she felt, only made the woman feel hollow. Why did she that? It never makes her feel better. Jane remembered that in the past, whenever she felt that emptiness the unknown woman pushed it away tried filling it with other things. Like when she was finally done with getting all her revenge, instead of stopping there, she kept going; killing for others since already being in the position of assassinating people for money. She couldn't exactly remember when that started but she knew how. Somewhere along the way, someone thanked her.

_A girl, maybe, only one year younger than the unknown teen, thanked her for killing the man on top of the girl. Of course, Jane had done it for herself. When she saw him, he had obviously not changed; they never do. Never.  
_

_The younger repeated the words, "Thank you. Thank you." She said them again and again until her words were a slur, her sobs and wails overtook her voice. The girl crawled her way to Jane and hugged at her legs, all while Jane stood there in shock. Looking down she noticed that the girl was fully clothed… it didn't happen yet. Though, she still could feel the girl's shaking. Jane felt something twist in her stomach, a pang in her chest. She didn't know what she was feeling at the time mistaking for pity and sorrow.  
_

* * *

_Only a few months later, it happened again only it reminded Jane too much of what she went through. ___A_ blonde woman was caged and skinny as if being underfed for a long time. Jane could see the bones of her spine and her sunken face when she slowly turned around. Her arm was broken and blood streamed down her legs.  
_

_"Get out," the blonde's voice came out raspy as if she had used it too much in the last hour. "Get out of here. H-He'll get you too," she warned. The elder woman waved her unharmed hand to urgently shoo Jane away. Here the blonde was frail and almost dying, as she warned a stranger.  
_

_"He already has," Jane told her, "But it won't happen again. He can't hurt me… or you anymore." The unknown girl tried picking open the lock on the woman's cell but she was still in need of practice at the time. The woman stared at Jane's bloodied hands as she finally got it open.  
_

_"Thank you,"  
_

_Those words again. The feeling in her chest and stomach was completely different. Jane let a small smile play on her dry lips, "It's a pleasure."  
_

_That's when she started doing the dirty work for others as well. That's when she really started cleaning up the human race. Rapists, child molesters, parents who commit infanticide… murderers. Name anything. Jane has killed at least one or two or thirty of each. No one else was going to do it. That shaking girl who hadn't even experienced being raped was so scared and helpless; a quaking ball on the dirty floor. The dying blonde who could barely walk even with Jane's helping hand. No one else **could** do it._

_But when her self-tasks were all accomplished, she had nothing to focus on other than… her memories, her feelings. But, no! She didn't want to remember! No matter how much she told herself; it was over and done with, that those men and some women were dead, and that they couldn't hurt her._

_She tried to forget about it but all that did was bring about that emptiness. She never wanted to admit that even after all that she did… it didn't… it didn't- Never! It did help! It changed everything! It did have meaning, it wasn't senseless killing! They deserved it! And so many more deserve it! Her work wasn't done! And so… She crammed herself with other peoples' problems to avoid the nothingness._

As to why she stopped? Well, the birth rate versus the rate of her killing activity was outrageous… That was just an excuse. The real one? Yes, she wanted to have a new life. Izaya, the son of a bitch, was completely right. And she wanted to run from anything got to do with her past – other than the people she spared and cared for, of course.

Then again, maybe that was just a new way to not feel empty- No! That wasn't true!…

… Jane wanted a normal life. Or as normal as it could get. She wanted all the blood to wash away. She didn't want to do such disgusting things that made her actually vomit on a few occasions. Her mind had become so distraught and rotten over the years. And when she stalked her targets who turned out to be normal people with good hearts, excluding Izaya Orihara, it was like she was inspired. Inspired to be… human. It was okay to be sad, feel pain, be scared, or jealous, and angry… so very angry. It was normal to feel the emotions that she pushed away for years on end. And slowly, her mindset of "who else is going to clean up the human race" dissipated.

It didn't have to be her. It didn't have to anyone! She found herself not caring as much. Sure she still hated those revolting men but… as selfish as it sounded… it was someone else's problem. The victim had to either 'accept' and **somehow** 'move on', or bring justice upon the assaulter, or whatever the fuck the problem was! They needed to choose; like Jane did. Jane wouldn't be there for them anymore. Why should she? No one was there for her! The mother and father sold her to that bastard! Jane's sister turned her back on her! The other girls imprisoned sighed with relief when the men chose little young Jane! Time after time of screaming for help and it NEVER CAME! NO ONE CAME!

… No one came for her.

She wouldn't do it anymore. She couldn't help someone who **never **helped her. She was done with that. Only that one blonde woman cared what happened to her! And she was dead! She bled out while making their escape. Was that the only reason why she decided to 'help' others?

_'Fuck it. Fuck other people. Do the dirty work yourselves motherfucker! And make sure that you've got the right person, you miserable cunt! You have hands! Dirty them! Do whatever the fuck you want! How dare you have the audacity to tell me to kill when you're too scared to do it yourself!'  
_

Why didn't she think of it ages ago? Why didn't she just face her problems and not barge into someone else's? Why didn't she start a new life when she murdered that last man who ra-

But as Izaya said, she'll never be able to fully run away from what happened. She already knew that. A perfect happy life doesn't exist no matter who you are. No matter what name… No matter what title you give yourself. 'Pure water.' 'A truthful smile.' The idea was almost laughable. As if that was ever going to fucking happen.

Jane deeply sighed noticing the slight shake of it, "Damn. Izaya, you asshole," she muttered, "making me rethink all this shit." She looked down at the blade in her right hand for the first time. The female let it drop seeming to fall in slow motion as she watched it hit the ground. Jane quickly toppled to the floor grasping the knife to her chest holding it tight; never wanting to let go of it again. Why did she keep this thing? It was the start of her despair. Why did she cling to it? Maybe Izaya could tell her.

The woman put the knife back on the side of her hip; when her eyes fell upon a black something. She picked it up and saw the tiny lens. It was a camera. Izaya said that it came off the big guy when she hit him. Jane had forgotten about it until now. She was glad that she found it. That douche must have not reminded her on purpose. She stared into the camera as a small chuckle escaped her lips. "He'll never change." Jane placed the lens down and stomped on it forcibly.

* * *

When said douche wobbled into his apartment, he instantly let him collapsed onto the couch. Izaya could practically feel the bruises appearing all over his body. "Shizu-chan's such a pain," he groaned with a grin as he forced himself back up. "Better get the disinfectant."

After cleaning his injuries and slapping on some band-aids, a job Shinra would've laughed at, Izaya slumped into his spinny chair. He let it twirl once before rolling forward into the desk. The raven didn't really do much traditional work today nor yesterday so it was about time to get started.

However, he found his mind kept pulling Jane-chan up. Before he met and spoke to the woman, Jane Doe really didn't matter all that much when she suddenly stopped stalking the raven. But he made sure to keep tabs on where and who she was in case she came back to kill him. But after five months, Izaya completely lost track of her. There were suddenly no eyeball stabbings or people going 'missing' or at least the rate dropped considerably. Until the fateful day, he saw a nineteen-year-old walking down the streets of Ikebukuro clutching at something under her oversized sweater. He knew the shape all too well, a knife. Now, why would an innocent little girl be carrying a knife on streets with police about? Looking into 'Maemi Shimizu' he found his previous stalker or potential assassin. The girl seemed utterly tedious but knowing at least some of her background intrigued him but not enough to be bothered in approaching her. Not to mention that Izaya didn't want to die sooo…

But when he ran into her, or rather, when Shizu-chan ran into her; Izaya couldn't help himself. He had quite the bad habit of flirting with death all too often even though he never ever welcomed it. It was like his bad eating habit! It's not as if he liked the feeling of being hungry not liked the idea of starvation; it's just that he'd simply forget. Sometimes, Izaya just forgot that he could potentially be in danger. But when the threat did appear, he'd remember again so it wasn't something to worry about too much… right?

But back on topic! Before, Jane-chan had simply been a human on the side. Someone who wasn't forgotten but just didn't have a grandstand on his broad. But even now, she still didn't fit anywhere. Surely, she was none of the shogi pieces. If he used her as a pawn, she'd kill him. Jane-chan wouldn't be his knight obviously. Bishop? That would be hilarious. She had committed too many sins to represent Church. And she couldn't be a simple Othello piece. Jane-chan had more sides to her than only two. So why was he so determined to find out who she was? Interest alone? That seemed a little non-profitable… _'Oh well. Guess I'll just have to make an exception.'_ The male giggled.

* * *

**Author speaking! Did anyone notice that in the last chapter when referring to Ma- Jane-chan, I only used descriptions like 'the woman' or 'brunette' etc. Well, this is the reason why! Just so you know her 'name' (so to speak) will be Jane Doe or Jane-chan now. I was planning on doing it sooner but with short chapters, it's kind of hard to do. I'm trying to make them longer, however... finding time to do so is going to be harder from now on. I'm sorry. But all the same! I'll do my best to keep on track! **

**Oh and, again, please tell me if I'm going too far with... the sexual assault. **


	21. Details to Notice

Maemi had yet another work shift only that her co-worker had asked to switch with her that week. So Jane had to do the mornings; thanks to Maemi's annoying habit of not being able to say 'no'. The woman was tiredly covering her face with foundation, which was more on the pinkish undertone side rather than her natural orange traces. She lightened her brows, slightly contoured her cheekbones and chin – touching the nose was too risky. And then finally the long light chestnut colored wig. The woman spilt it in two and put the loose curls into twin tails behind her ears.

"You're a nineteen-year-old girl. Shy and respectful. You don't get in other people's way. You keep your head down and live a normal life. You've moved away from your parents for better work and education – when you are able to money-wise. This is not your house; a family friend is letting you rent it. And your name is Maemi Shimizu," the woman under the disguise muttered as she stared into the girl's eyes in the mirror.

Ever since Izaya had his spiel of her unorganized brain, to put it lightly, Jane had difficulty in pulling Maemi Shimizu out. It was like she had become a stranger. Before Jane met Izaya, she had no problem in keeping Maemi on the exterior – and to some degree the interior – from when she first put the mask of makeup on to when she removed it. She didn't always do it and admittedly avoided it sometimes, but she could if life required her to do so.

In the beginning, when the woman was new to changing herself mentally she'd list attributes that the identities had. All the facts- All the lies she could think of about them helped her pull the character from deep inside of her. Or at the start of the beginning, she just stepped into someone else's shoes. When did that change? When did the real her get mixed up with everyone else? When did this all happen? Was she that good at lying to herself that she didn't even fucking know? What the fuck was wrong with her?

Her thoughts lingered on Izaya's rant and how disturbingly correct he had been. And yet, in ways, how he was utterly wrong. Part of the brunette wanted to ignore how jumbled she was. Deceive herself into believing it was normal. People always have mixed emotions, after all! That's all it was. She didn't have actual problems. Well, she did… but not those types of problems. It's not as if she had multiple personality disorder or borderline personality disorder and certainly not bipolar. She had done research, alright!

And yet the other side of her wanted to understand herself but it was so hard; who was she, why was she like this, how and when? **Which one was she?**

None. She was no one anymore. Just Jane Doe. Maybe it was the easy way out but she didn't care. Easy was better than difficult. Being no one was better than attempting or – in other words – failing to find herself. Questioning every word she uttered, a cry of pain, a shriek of fear, mumbled whimpers from weeping, or more commonly a snarl of hatred. Questioning her every move, that habit of glancing to the side, her tucking hair behind her ear or tousling it to be in her face, the sudden urge to go buy cigarettes. Even the fucking way she stood! Closed frame, open frame, confident strides or shuffling dragging feet. Questioning all of it, whether it was her or someone she made up, it's too much. It's exhausting. It's hard. She never received the answers anyway so why bother going through it. Easy was better than difficult. It's easy to not question it… no matter how much she wanted to.

Maemi checked the time on her wristwatch covering the circling scars, "Oh! Better go." And the girl sped off to work.

* * *

It was a rather busy morning. Costumer after costumer, coffee after coffee. It had gone rather fast and the girl was ready to go to sleep by the time she had five minutes left. The last few minutes always went so slowly. Maemi was preparing cutlery when she heard the door open. The woman turned and greeted the guest softly, warmly as Maemi Shimizu would. "Good afternoon, may I assist…" When she spotted black hair and a wide grin her words trailed off. Izaya? "Oh, hey-" Jane caught herself. Her mask had slipped; she placed it back on firmly. "H-Hello, Orihara-san." Maemi's voice was gentle as she gave that welcoming smile.

Izaya's up-turned lips curled still more catching how her act had slipped at the sight of him but easily made her comeback, "Hello, Mae-chan! It's been a while," he wasn't even lying. It had been a while since the unknown woman pulled Maemi out in front of him. She agreed shyly glancing to the side from feeling a little awkward. Was that Jane? … Izaya had come to the conclusion. No. More so, Jane was in the habit of doing so because of Mae-chan.

The girl was again acting so different. Izaya knew he'd be in for a treat to see her at work. He had brought his laptop to make notes and everything~ "Can I get a long black, extra shot, large in the takeaway cup but I'm going to stay here. Table eight," he told her. Izaya always did that, getting his coffee in the lidded cups. There were many reasons being; if Shizu-chan came waltzing in at least Izaya could take his coffee and make a break for it, same if it was anyone else attempting to inflict harm upon him which actually happened rather often… Hmm… Oh well! Another reason being, the takeaway cups kept the coffee hot a lot longer than the mugs. And with how slow the male drank it he needed all the heat-reserving he could get.

Maemi repeated the order back to him. "Is that all, Orihara-san?" He was skipping lunch, wasn't he?

He thought with a small hum, "For now, yes. You're working until close, right?"

It seemed he was unaware of her working hour's adjustment. "No, actually." She gave somewhat of a smirk. What was the bet he hacked into the manager's email? To go through the trouble and not find the reward he was looking for, it was hilarious. However, if Izaya was perturbed by this, he didn't let it show his up-turned lips still in place. "In fact," Jane glanced at her watch. "I finish in one minute," she said a matter-of-factly. Jane noticed a few pairs of eyes upon Maemi in her peripheral vision. Her co-workers. _'Shit! You're Maemi Shimizu. Shy and sweet.'_

"Oh?" Izaya mused, also spotting the eyes on them, giggling, "You want something then? You can join me~" He just had to keep her here. Watching Jane-chan's struggles was too much fun! Why was she having so much trouble? Was it just because he was here? Or was she like this all day? Or perhaps, for a while?

The woman threw Jane's thoughts of Izaya just wanting to see Maemi in public and her strain, out of her head. She couldn't let her or anyone other than Maemi be on the exterior. And so, the woman delved deep and dragged Maemi Shimizu out to have full control, "U-Umm, I wouldn't want to impose." Maemi's cheeks had filled with brilliant color.

"Not at all, Mae-chan," Izaya said. Hmm… was it just in his head? Was she actually not having any problem at all?

"A-Are you sure?" The male nodded. "O-Okay, umm…" '_Damn it! Maemi! Why can't you fucking say no!' _the woman furiously thought. She really shouldn't have trusted the young girl with this. "An ice-coffee sounds n-n-nice. I don't know w-why but I'm feeling a little hot." The girl was stammering all over the place.

The co-workers' strange looks melted into ones that said 'she's so cute… and totally clueless.' At least that's what Izaya was imagining they'd be thinking. Oh, the irony. If only they knew what this woman was capable of. Izaya giggled mischief evident in his eyes though he made sure to keep it from his voice, "Put down anything you want, you're too cute to say no to." The male was having so much fun messing with the girl in front of him. He just knew that Jane was ready to punch him in the face while Mae-chan was utterly red all over wide-eyeing him, her mouth even slightly agape.

"O-O-O-Okay. Th-Thank you, Orihara-san." Maemi's fingers trembled as she punched in what she wanted. Jane made it the most expensive coffee the café had to fucking offer. A large iced-coffee, two extra shots, white chocolate syrup, almond vanilla ice-cream, almond whipped-cream on almond milk with chocolate syrup drizzled on top. Maemi's thoughts of this being so wrong and immature were drowned out by Jane's rage. _'Fuck you, Izaya! Making me stay here! And how dare you call me cute! You know I fucking hate it! I'm gonna beat the living shit out of you when we're alone!'_

Maemi smiled sweetly and gave him the price. He was a rich man, as if that was going to get to him; the idea was laughable and so… Izaya gave a chuckle and placed the money in the money tray. The woman really could be so childish. She counted the cash and put it through the till. "Please take a seat, I'll be with you in just a second," said Maemi in an angelic voice.

Izaya found the eighth booth, sat comfortably and opened his laptop. The café had calmed down so it was no surprise that a few minutes later Jane-chan or Mae-chan came, placing down his coffee and slightly bowing. She then sat opposite to him holding her overly priced iced-coffee, still a hint of color in her cheeks.

The raven just couldn't help but chuckle again. After all, was it two days ago? Two days ago, she had been describing what it felt like to stab a man over and over and how blissful it was. This woman had major mental problems; Izaya didn't even need to mess with her when she was already… like that. Nevertheless, she was still extremely entertaining. In fact, maybe that's what made her so amusing. "How was your shift, Mae-chan?" Izaya grinned knowing this was such a mundane question and yet Jane-chan had probably never heard it before.

"A-Alright, I guess. I didn't break any dishes and umm… I was able to make a few coffees." Her answer came out easier than expected on Izaya's part. Was it because he was fully speaking to Mae-chan? Was Jane even conscious of this conversation?

"Isn't that the barista's job?" he casually teased.

"Well, y-yes but I enjoy it. I only made three, but that's enough. I wouldn't want to step on someone else's toe." She smiled shyly but seeming more comfortable now with her flush dissipating. It so strange to see her that way before, it didn't fit at all. But Izaya guessed her actions weren't meant to line up with Jane-chan's. Because it wasn't her… whoever she was. "Actually… I made that one." She pointed shakily at Izaya's long black that he hadn't tried yet.

The male's first thought was, _'Jane-chan made it bad on purpose, didn't she?'_ He picked it up and bravely sipped. It was strong, yes, but that's how he liked it. The blend was smooth and not too earthly like others were. He could tell that the coffee machine was cleaned regularly and properly set so the shot was nothing less than perfect. And the temperature was just right. "Well done." He said pleasantly gazing at the cup's lid that had a swirling pattern printed on it. His reddish eyes finally glided up to the girl's, no, the woman's. Jane was smiling not needing to hind her genuine glee as it was in character. But Izaya knew the difference somehow, now that he was getting used to it.

"That's good," the woman whispered as she wrapped her pink lips around her straw and sucked up the contents for the first time. Jane had said and done the same thing when she cooked that udon noodle soup for him.

It really was her. That confirmed it.

She was conscious when being Mae-chan. Did that apply to her other 'selves'? The garnet-eyed male couldn't think of a reason for it not to be. He guessed he'd have to find out for sure in due time. After sipping on their cups for five more long minutes, Izaya closed his laptop, saving first of course, and stood. "Let's go, Ja- Mae-chan." Maemi blinked and then slowly raised herself nodding.

The two left the café, Jane couldn't help but notice the eyes of her co-workers. This was a little uncharacteristic to leave side by side with someone, not to mention that someone being an older male. She could only imagine what they were thinking… Fuck it. The open-maniac and the secret-maniac headed for Jane Doe's humble abode. The weather had finally cleared after the downpour yesterday. However, its memory was clear and fresh, the small puddles in ditches on the street's path made sure of that. Ikebukuro really was a nice place. Very busy with people everywhere but at least it wasn't so bad… like Shibuya. That place was just a little too much. Fucking awful to be honest.

"Izaya," the woman deadpanned. The male carelessly hummed in reply. "Why did you have act all flirty in there? It was weird." Jane blurted in annoyance her face looked as if she had tasted something very sour or perhaps something that had long passed its expiry date. She couldn't fucking believe him. What the actual fuck?

Izaya giggled, "The other humans were thinking I was something along the lines of 'love-interest' so I decided to play along! It was rather funny. You really wanted to hit me, didn't you? Like SMACK!" he forced his right fist to his opposite palm harshly.

"'Wanted'? Why are you speaking in past-tense, Izaya? I still want to punch you in the stomach," she muttered darkly.

"Ooo~ Scary~" he cooed. Jane rolled eyes but for some reason, she had the urge to smile but bit her lip to keep it down. For the rest of the way, she made sure to slightly shuffle her feet and keep her eyes on the ground just like Maemi Shimizu.

* * *

When the unknown woman unlocked her front door and quickly entered she had to come to a halt. The raven head was still looking behind them. He had a feeling someone was watching him for a while now. And thankfully, it wasn't someone to be too worried about. The transporter could be so annoying at times, but usually, she wasn't this nosy to actually stalk him. Jane tried beckoning him inside, aware of the presences lurking what seemed to be every shadowy corner.

Turning back to her and smirking like a fool, "What? Trying to protect me?" he teased lightly.

"Yep," she answered simply. Jane grabbed his wrist and pulled him through the threshold of her home. A small unwanted grunt spewed from his lips before the male cut himself off. The woman locked the door unaware or unfazed of the quiet yelp of surprise. "Do you know who it is?" the woman spoke on edge, however, she was focused on the presence outside.

Izaya easily composed himself again and his lips returned to that feigned expression. "Indeed, I do."

"Are they dangerous?" she asked narrowly her eyes but not at him. It was as if she was glaring through the door and at the 'offender'.

"Oh yes. Deadly," Izaya whispered lowly not wasting any time in chortling after. The unknown female relaxed a little. He wasn't in immediate danger, no action needed; the woman assessed. Izaya took note of her tensed muscles slackened."It's not a joke, Jane-chan," he told her. She gazed at him for a moment, deciding whether to believe him or not, before questioning who their follower was. "I'm sure you've heard of the Headless Rider."

Silence was now the follower, "… You're kidding." Izaya just grinned; it didn't meet his eyes. "Wow. Okay, you're not kidding."

"Yes. I'm afraid I'm not on the transporter's good side." Though the words expressed shame and disappointment his tone had none of the sorts. In fact, it sounded as though he rather liked his current position on the headless stranger's blacklist.

Headless… Was that really true? She wouldn't really be too surprised. Jane had seen many strange things that defied logic; that demon sword holder, Jane could have sworn that young pop idol in the gothic lolita was a vampire, or at least half or maybe quarter. Oh! And the head that was alive at Shingen's laboratory years ago… Wait a second… Did Shingen- Internally sighing Jane brushed the thought off. It didn't really matter. That man was so alien-like that something like this was ordinary for him. Realizing she had been standing there silently, the woman thought back to what they were talking about, "Wait… Transporter?" Jane blinked.

"That's the headless horseman's occupation," Izaya noted, "Come on, Jane-chan. Did you really think she drives around for no reason?" he teased.

Jane guessed everyone had to make a living somehow, "She…" the woman noticed the pronoun, "I knew it!" she suddenly exclaimed. Izaya hummed in question somewhat surprised she even thought of it. "Come on, Izaya!" the 'chestnut' haired woman mimicked his tone. "She has huge breasts, of course, she's female." The woman nodded in enthusiasm, glad to know she was right.

"I'm not interested in observing a monster's breasts," Izaya said dully losing his grin and sharpening his eyes.

It was the perfect opportunity. "Hmm… That's strange," the woman obviously didn't think so, her tones giving it away. "Why point out she's a headless monster? Why not just say you're not interested in observing breasts all together? Huh?" she mocked.

Words got caught in Izaya's throat, "Ah-" he closed his mouth so no other unwanted sounds came up. Instantly the image of Jane asleep being cradled in his arms, her baggy sweater exposing part of her womanly features sprung from the back of his mind where he threw and condemned it. Damn it! He had sworn to keep that memory far far away from his foreground mind. He took a small breath suppressing his unwelcomed reverie, "What non-

"… nonsense are you going on about'?" Jane interrupted. The male was getting irritated, maybe that was enough. She giggled, "Come on, that was better than being punch when you're already injured, right?"

Izaya stared at her, "How did you know that I'm… a little ouchies?" he hated the idea of being injured. It made it sound worse than what it was. Not to mention the word made him feel… weak, vulnerable. Izaya Orihara was anything but.

"You were walking rather stiffly. Did Shizuo chase you around town again?" she didn't really need to ask.

He gave a bitter laugh at the sound of that name leaving her lips, "Yep!"

The woman sighed, "Well, come on. Let's sit down. My legs are so sore." She yawned while slipping off her shoes. Izaya asked about their company outside. "If she decides to make a move we'll just have to be ready. But she hasn't given any signs that she wants to harm us." The woman slummed down to the couch and sighed. "That's better."

Izaya soon joined her staring where a window was but the curtains were closed. _'What are you going to do, transporter?'_

* * *

**Umm... Sorry for the delay. With longer chapters, it's harder to meet the week's deadline... **


	22. Little Whispers

Jane wasn't completely surprised that Izaya was… acquainted with the Black Rider, Headless Rider, the Transporter or the 'Dullahan' – as what Izaya had called the woman in black. But wasn't a Dullahan supposed to ride a horse? Not a motorbike. Then again it did make sense as to why the body could move around without a head. It was never attached to begin with. And it seemed Shingen Kishitani had stolen it – most likely to do his little experiments. He was probably done with it by now though that is if the head Jane saw was the dullahan's. But she decided to keep her theory to herself, after all, Izaya wasn't giving many details about the situation either. Only that of her strange shadow-like powers.

Soon, the topic morphed and changed to one thing to the next. They had the television going but Jane put it to such a low volume that made the device rather pointless. The pair was aware of Celty outside who was trying to listen in, not that their conversation was about anything particularly important.

Celty was absolutely sure that Izaya was up to no good, as usual. And the girl seemed so sweet; of course she'd be an easy target for someone like Izaya. Celty needed to warn her! He'll mess with her innocent brain like what he does to everyone and then laugh as if it was some sick game! She could, for once, stop it before it happened. But the dullahan couldn't just drag the informant out of there; it was the girl's home whoever she was. And to explain the situation the girl was getting into over typing on her PDA? The youth wouldn't understand, not to mention how they were strangers.

Maybe, she should just go home. Shinra was probably getting worried… Shinra! Celty pulled up her PDA and started to text the underground doctor.

* * *

Moments passed and Shinra had finally arrived. "CELTYYYY!" he cheered running in to embrace his all-time lover.

The woman, like usual, stopped him with her string-like shadows, 'Stop!' she wrote, 'This is **not **the time.'

"Aaaw~" he complained, "But you always say that."

'Izaya is up to something again.' The dullahan ignored his comment, 'And it's got to do with that girl.' She cleared the entrée then typed again, 'He's going to do something awful. I just know it!'

"I see," the bespectacled male said in feigned interest. _'Hmm… Yeah, Izaya most likely is. But, what do we have to do with it?'_ Shinra thought. It didn't really affect him or his future-wife, so what was the point in getting involved? He had only come because he wanted to see Celty.

'I bumped into them and, oh yeah. I declined the job from that sketchy group. Sasouharu gave me the creeps!' she notified. 'Anyway, so I decided to follow them. I guess this is the girl's house.' She pointed, 'I didn't know what to do when she practically pulled him inside! I was going to tell her when Izaya left but he's still in there! All afternoon! It's half past five and they're still talking!' The tapping of her fingertips hitting the PDA finally stopped.

"For that long?" Shinra questioned. Maybe the girl was actually one of Izaya clients looking for information. Then again, it was way out of Izaya's comfort zone to be in someone else's home; unless he had already set the plan into motion. Perhaps, the girl was one of those who wanted to make a suicide pact and Izaya was going to give his rather long spiel about the matter. How pointless it was, and how "…it's not your suffering that ends, it's your existence." Even though Izaya would do it in a really fucked way, it still wasn't really a bad thing. In fact, it was probably the kindest thing he was capable of. Cuz', well, you can't ignore the fact that without Izaya's rant the victim wouldn't second guess the way he made them. Then again, it was just to see the inner turmoil burst and rise to the surface. It's not like he'd stop them if they decided to do it anyway. But most of the time they didn't. That's probably what was transpiring now. Though, it wasn't like Shinra knew the whole story. And if he was being completely honest, he didn't really want to know. But… it seemed Celty wanted to soo… "What are they talking about?"

'I don't know. I can only make out muffled voices… well, words.' The headless being couldn't really hear. 'All the windows are closed and they aren't talking very loudly so whatever it is, you'd think they'd be discussing something serious but sometimes I can notice a ring of laughter. And I know we're talking about Izaya, but it's coming from the girl as well.' She ranted.

"Hmm…" the doctor thought, "You're really worried, aren't you?" he said admiringly giving her a loving gaze. The woman in black didn't answer. "You're so wonderful, Celty, you know that. Well, okay!" he suddenly exclaimed and took her hand though she tried to flinch away. "Let's go." He smiled only for Celty to tilt her helmet a little.

* * *

When the pair on the couch were in an eager discord about Izaya's complex hybrid game the doorbell rang. They nearly snapped their necks from turning so suddenly. The dullahan rang the doorbell? Seriously? The brunette and raven looked at each other, wordlessly asking themselves what to do. Izaya hopped up and was about to skip his way to the door when Jane jerked him back and stared at him incredulously. Still staying silent he gave his shoulders a shake as if laughing. The woman made a stern glare pressing a finger to her lips as a signal to remain quiet. Only succeeding in making Izaya chuckled at her protective nature. Was she like that with all the humans she spared? Or just… him…

Why was that thought not followed by disgust? And instead, a pleasant warmth from within his chest. Why did that thought make him happy? How peculiar.

The bell sounded again followed by a quick knock.

She clutched her closed knife, just in case, and the woman dressed as a girl made her way to the door. Izaya following behind her only because she wouldn't allow him to be in front. Maybe she did suit being a Knight piece. She looked through the peephole, she had made herself, to see the headless rider pulling on a male's arm trying to make him back away. More likely run away, from her frantic behavior.

"That's strange," the male spoke, "No one's answering," his voice was muffled by the door but Izaya recognized it instantly. What the hell was he doing here?

"Jane-chan, you can open the door," the raven told her. But the woman wide-eyed him, her golden eyes telling him he was crazy and resumed to be wary. "It's fine, Jane-chan," he waved off reaching his hand to the knob when Jane frantically slapped it away. "Ouchy!" he exclaimed gaining the attention of the strangers on the other side of the door.

"Izaya? Open the door already." The unknown woman fidgeted in the spot before she sighed in retirement putting her knife in her back pocket as she opened the door to greet the strangers. "Oh. Hello," the male pleasantly said meeting her eyes. The woman in black was no longer attempting to retreat.

"G-Good afternoon. You must have the wrong address-

Maemi was cut off, "Of course they have the right address, silly," Izaya teased from a few paces behind her unnecessarily rubbing his hand. He sure likes to jump the gun, doesn't he? She gazed up at the two strangers feeling a little small. Why did so many people have to be taller than her? It's not like she was a midget, these people were just so tall!

"Izaya, so you are still here," the male commented even though it was evident before he even heard him beyond the door, there was no way he could have slipped out without Celty realizing after all. The only question was why? Why was he still here? Normally, when Izaya personally pursued someone in one of his games, they had to be interesting enough to grab his attention. But… this girl seemed utterly conventional. Shinra peered at her intently, she was getting uncomfortable, he could tell.

But in truth, Jane was thinking, _'The fuck's he looking at!' _Sure, from Maemi's body language of squirming and glancing all around other than his large brown eyes, of course, Shinra was mistaken.

"And how did you come to know my whereabouts, I wonder," the raven mused, though his gaze unmistakably sharpened at a certain mythological being. "Mae-chan, why are you so quiet? Come on, even I know to not let guests wait outside on the porch," he giggled.

"I-Izaya, but-" she looked back at the two. It doesn't seem like they meant any harm. Internally sighing, yet again, Jane opened the door a little wider. The male gave a coax thank you while taking off his shoes and the woman nodded her helmet, her shoes disappearing. Maemi blinked at how they turned into black mist and then nothing at all. Izaya wasn't exaggerating before, was he? Snapping herself away from that, she closed and locked the door. She guided the… umm… 'guests' into the lounge and dining area, "Please sit wherever you would like. Umm… Would you like something to drink? Tea? Coffee? Juice?" she listed. Wait, no! She couldn't leave Izaya alone! Quickly catching his eye, he winked, telling her that it was fine. God, he was reckless.

"Tea would be great." The male stranger said. Izaya internally complained heading to his spot back on the couch.

Maemi giggled, "Don't worry. I know you want coffee," she whispered him then went back to the group, "Make yourselves comfortable. S-Sorry for the limited space." Maemi said awkwardly feigning a chuckle. She gave a little bow out of habit from working at the café and then paced to the kitchen to boil some water. Izaya chuckled at the way the woman pulled Maemi out at a click of her fingers. Only just before, she was readying to stab someone. Was she having trouble putting it or not? But Izaya's thoughts were interrupted by a PDA being shoved in front of his face.

'What are you planning on doing now?' it read.

The transporter was being quite brash today, Izaya noticed. Did something happen? Was she projecting her anger onto him? The raven head spread a smirk across his lips, "Oh, you know, the usual. Terrorizing little girls." He allowed a cackle to escape his lips; Jane easily heard him from the kitchen and joined quietly. But Shinra's gaze darted at Izaya. The raven would never say that if he was actually planning something but the doctor decided to keep that to himself. "What about you? I'm sure you had a fun time today," the crimson-eyed male commented, being ever-so misleading with his words.

It struck the dullahan like a dagger. Of course, Izaya was a part of that group's schemes. He was probably playing them all. 'I'm assuming you know Sasouharu then.'

"Hisashi-kun?" Izaya questioned casually though the name left a sour taste in his mouth. Hisashi Sasouharu was the man who was… overly excited about a certain woman's kidnapping. He wouldn't listen to a god damn thing Izaya said which really pissed him off. The man acted as if he was some gangster who got drug fucked every day and had sexual interaction forced or not on a regular basis as if this somehow made him high and mighty. When in actuality he hadn't even got his dick wet in eighteen months and no one sold him any drugs because no one wanted him around! "So, he's out of the hospital then," Izaya noted, leaving out _'no doubt with a dint or two shaped like a meat tenderizer mallet in his head.' _And lucky he did because Hisashi-kun's assaulter had walked into the room with two mugs in each hand balancing on saucers.

"I patched Sasouharu-san up, actually," Shinra interjected. "I'm guessing you're somehow responsible for the dint in his head then?"

At that Jane nearly dropped all the drinks out losing balance for a moment. Izaya let a loud laugh irrupt from his mouth. Oh! If only they knew the crime had taken place right here, merely one meter away from where Izaya was sitting. "I wouldn't say that. It isn't like I bashed his head in. Someone else on the other hand," Izaya gave the unknown woman a pointed gaze leaving his sentence unfinished. Whether this unsettled Jane or not Izaya wasn't able to tell, Maemi had just placed Shinra's tea in front of him. But apparently, his stare didn't go unnoticed. However, it was also mistaken.

'I'm warning you. Don't lay a finger on her,' Celty wrote.

"Playing the protector of 'the innocent' again, are we?" Izaya grinned looking like a fox. It was pretty ironic how he already promised the unknown woman to not touch her. But he guessed he kind of broke it… Oh well! Izaya just smirked at the dullahan looking at her helmet. Where else was he supposed to look?

Jane slipped passed them to set down her and Izaya's coffees on her new coffee table which looked the same as her old broken one.

"Hmm… Wait a second. That reminds me." Shinra spoke up, chin in his palm, "Does that mean this girl is the one you were sleeping with when I accidentally called you?" Jane spluttered nearly pouring the last cup of tea all over herself while Celty was ready to punch the human 'lover'.

What made Shinra remember this was unclear but anywho~ "Yes, she is." Izaya returned struggling to keep a straight face, laughter was about to explode from him.

"Don't say it like that!" Jane snapped.

"But it's true~" the red-eyed male cooed.

"Yeah, but it was only sleeping like r-resting, not… that!" she spat the word.

Izaya giggled, _'Is this Mae-chan? Or Jane-chan?'_ The woman wasn't blushing… _'Jane-chan,'_ he opted. Maemi had slipped away. "Hey, why did you make four drinks?" Izaya questioned in a teasing manner.

"Because there's four of-" Jane stopped and shifted her eyes to the woman wearing a helmet. "Oh! Crap! Sorry! I didn't mean to-" _'Shit! Did I just make Maemi say "crap"? She'd never do that!'_ the woman inwardly kicked herself.

The other female typed on a PDA, 'It's fine,' she soothed taking the mug anyway. Though she couldn't drink it, it was still comforting to have something warm in her hand. Celty decided to not try and explain this, however, it would be too hard. And probably make no sense.

Maemi worryingly nodded her head with a slight heat in her cheeks out of embarrassment. "Sorry," she said again. The male chuckled to himself relaxing on the couch. _'Shut up!'_ the woman gave him a glare which only made him laugh more loudly. She turned back to the woman in black and the brunette male, "Umm… What was it that you wanted, exactly? N-Not to be rude!"

'I guess we should introduce ourselves,' the dullahan typed. It was evident Izaya wasn't going to do it. 'My name is Celty Sturluson.'

_'How the hell am I supposed to pronounce that last name?'_ the girl thought.

'You can just call me Celty.' She added. Maemi nodded courteously, inner relief struck her. She looked passed the woman to the male in rectangular glasses.

"Shinra Kishitani," he said.

"It's nice to meet you." The woman didn't let her recognition of the name, show on her face. Shinra Kishitani was the boy who Izaya supposedly stabbed. Not to mention his father being that underground doctor that was, and could still potentially be, in possession of that head. And by the looks of that lab coat, the male was wearing, he was following his father's footsteps. It was no coincidence that they were together, confirming part of her theory. "My name is Maemi Shimizu." The girl gave a small bow again.

After a moment of silence deciding what to say, Celty tapped on her PDA and presented it to the 'chestnut' haired girl, 'Listen, Shimizu-san. I need to warn you,' it read. It went on to say things like, 'Izaya wasn't someone who she should get involved with,' and 'it's hard to explain,' or 'he has impure intentions.' Celty went back and forth looking at Shinra for help. Jane was getting a little bored reading. After all, she knew all of this already.

Getting involved with Izaya was a bad idea, but somehow, he and she kept worming themselves into each other's lives. And it's not like all of it's been bad… Probably most of it but… having company was… a nice fresh breath of air. But enough about that. Maemi looked up into the helmet… is that where she was supposed to look? "Umm…" Maemi nor Jane knew what to say. Was this seriously why the Headless Rider followed them? Jane really was on the wrong side, wasn't she? No, no. There weren't any sides.

Jane concluded an innocent girl would just be confused, and so, "What do you mean impure intentions?" she cocked her head to the side, a fear swimming in her gold eyes which seemed oh-so-real.

Izaya nearly choked on the coffee he was sipping, out of hysteric laughter. Jane-chan really was committing to Mae-chan's behavior. So much that it was annoying him… somewhat. It would be so much more interesting if she made a major oopsie. Maybe she needed a little push. "Oh, come on, Jane-chan. Don't believe a stranger now." He smirked letting her know he used the name on purpose.

"I really don't understand that nickname," she waved off under her breath but loud enough for the others to hear.

"Do you want me to explain it to you?" Izaya's voice mused but he wasn't considering at all. He had already decided. The woman gave him a warning look. "Jane Doe is the name given to females who are unidentified. Whether they're dead or," he paused for dramatic effort, "If the woman is concealing their iden-

Jane shoved her spoon in the reddish-eyed male's mouth, quite roughly might he add. This time Izaya actually choked, not on laughter. He delicately removed the spoon from the back of his throat, "That wasn't very nice, Jane-chan," he wheezed intentionally.

The woman stayed silent as she comprehended her actions. _'Ah shit.' _Shinra was chuckling while Celty was very still trying to understand where the violent action came from. The girl was being so sweet before. "Errr…" Jane struggled to grab Maemi to drag her out, "Th-That was… Umm…"

Izaya smirked, _'Ahh~ that's better.'_ He leaned back taking a sip of coffee attempting to sooth his throat. _'Ouchy… That really hurt~' _

Jane shut her mouth and inhaled deeply. He fucking did that on purpose. Shit. Shit. What should she do? Maemi didn't want to come out and Jane couldn't fill in for her anymore. She had been doing it all morning and she just wanted to stop. Izaya rose from his seat bending into the woman's ear, "They're not going to tell anyone, Jane-chan." Izaya spoke at a smaller volume but the pair staring would easily be able to understand his words.

She snapped her head towards him, "You've got to be kidding!" Jane whispered violently.

"Come one, think of the benefits, Jane-chan. He's a doctor," Izaya cooed slyly. "Don't tell me you want Shingen-

"Shut up!"

He giggled and switched to her other ear, "It's not like you have to take off that wig." Izaya said softly knowing if he announced it loudly, it would have the opposite effect of what he wanted.

The woman thought for what felt for a long time, "I can't," her voice gentle, no, fragile.

"Yes you can," he encouraged with his silky tones. "Come on, it's easier than pulling Mae-chan out all day." By the slight flinch she gave, his bold statement seemed to be correct. He glanced at the doctor and the monster who was looking utterly perplexed. A grin slid on his lips as Jane-chan sighed.

Izaya was right; being in touch with an underground doctor would be beneficial. As for the Headless rider? Not so much but… The dullahan wouldn't be talking to anyone, right? "What should I say?" she asked but the male just shrugged observing her every move. "Well, I guess I should explain what I know," she notified to herself and turned to Celty and Shinra. "I know Izaya is an absolute asshole who toys with people just for the fun of it. You don't need to warn me. Maemi comes off as naïve so I understand why you felt the need to do so. But I'm completely aware that this guy is dangerous in many ways, therefore you have nothing to fear on my behalf. And besides, he's not up to anything got to do with me. At least not at the moment. You really should just be looking after yourself. Trust me, I know your situation. Was your warning all you wanted to say? If it is, then please get out of my house." Jane finished.

Izaya's voice broke the minute of ringing silence, "That was a bit blunt." He chuckled.

"Hmm… D.I.D." the doctor diagnosed. Izaya pouted, he knew the bespectacled male's reaction would be boring. Shinra was always like that; if it didn't have to do with him or Celty then he simply wasn't interested. The monster, on the other hand, looked quite stricken by Jane's spiel, shoulders visibly twitching.

"I don't have multiple personalit-

Izaya giggled, "You kind of do."

"No, I don't," Jane darkly rumbled.

"Hey~ why are you so cranky, Jane-chan?" the raven sang.

"Shut up!" she snapped. "That's enough… Now, again, is that all you wanted?" The woman was back to being a calmer self.

Celty hesitated to type, 'Okay… Just because you know what Izaya is capable of, that doesn't mean you're not one of his… playthings.'

"Hmm… Did you not hear him before, Celty-san?" the woman questioned. "Oh. I guess you aren't aware of Izaya's little quirks and habits," she mumbled which gained Shinra's interest. When the doctor turned his gaze to Izaya, the informant did not look happy. "I'm assuming you asked Izaya what he was planning when Maem- I mean when I left for the kitchen." She went on. "And Izaya responded with '… Terrorizing little girls.' Now, can you, Headless Rider, think of a time where he admitted to something as vulgar as that?" Jane waited for a second, "Yeah, that's one of his quirks-

The raven cleared his throat purposefully making sure he plastered on his infamous grin, "I hav-

"'No idea what you're talking about,'" Jane finished for him yet again, taking in his frustration. "Revenge is so sweet~" she cooed as the male would giving him a challenging stare. They heard the doctor laugh and shifted their eyes to him sitting at the dining table.

Shinra couldn't help it. Izaya had finally had a person who understood him, at least a little. And she was just as strange as he was. And Celty had no idea what to make of the situation. She was so~ cute when confused. "Celty, let's go," he said simply, standing. The woman in black gave a small flinch and frantically went to type on her PDA but Shinra placed his hands over her typing fingers, "It's okay. I have a feeling Maemi or Jane knows what she's doing. Let's go," he repeated pulling the woman's hand to the exit. Celty's helmet was still looking back at Jane and Izaya on the couch. Izaya wiggled his fingers in goodbye when they were just about to pull into a corner where the front door was. Then the pair heard the door open and swing closed.

"Well, that was interesting," the male noted.

* * *

**I'm sure you can tell but I love Shinra and Celty together~ They're so cute! **

**... Oh, and you might want to remember Hisashi Sasouharu. Not gonna say anything else. Shhh~ **


	23. Only Jane Doe

With the strange pair being alone once more, they found themselves yet again lose track of time by merely chatting. True interaction was a rarity for Jane. But, thanks to a certain asshole, she had acted the way she wanted to in front of two strangers. She shouldn't have done that. If it was only Kishitani then maybe it would have been okay. But being… acquainted with the Headless Rider? The woman should have thought it through. Then again, from the way the bespectacled interloper glued his goggling eyes on the woman in black, it seemed even if Jane had only revealed herself to the doctor, he would have told his not-so-secret love interest everything and anything.

Jane confessed her worries to the dickhead at fault and, of course, she got a cackle in return. "Oh shoosh, Jane-chan!" he exclaimed airily, "You liked it and you know it!" The woman's mouth fell into an offended gape, right about to deny when the raven interrupted. "Na-a-a," he said wagging his index finger at her, "Don't deny. Come on~ Wasn't it so much easier?" Izaya tempted.

"It-It…" Jane trailed. Thinking of what to say was harder than what she thought it would be. In fact, everything that afternoon just seemed to play out differently to what she expected. For one, she thought she'd be alone but instead, Izaya Orihara was accompanying her. Two, and in his company he didn't mention the past, her past, he didn't want an interview. That was the remarkable part. They were going on and on about pointless… mundane things. But now she had ruined it. Those crimson eyes were gazing through her, almost searching for answers. Swallowing thickly, she continued, "It was easier then what I was making it out to be but… but I still shouldn't have. What if they tell someone? What if someone, who I don't want finding me, figures everything out? It's too much of a risk, and I took it-

"Jane-chan. You're being ridiculous," he told the somewhat panicked woman, a chuckle escaping him. "Shinra doesn't care much about anything. If you try to have a conversation with the guy, all he's going to say is something about his 'beloved'. He's not going to talk about you. You're simply not important enough."

"Wow… Thanks," the woman drawled sardonically.

"Shhh~ I'm still talking," Izaya hushed cheekily, clearing his throat to get back on topic. "And the transporter? Well, I don't think you need to worry about her either. She's used to keeping a heap to herself. To be honest, the major gamble you took was relieving yourself to me." The male paused pulling that faked smirk.

Jane lowered her gaze to her lap, shifting her legs up for socked feet to rest on the edge of the couch's seat. "But you're different. I know you," she whispered. She knew what was coming next. There was no chance of being wrong this time. After a second, maybe less, of hesitation Izaya splattered and gave a shriek of hysterical laughter. Jane had totally fucking called it.

"Now, **that's** ridiculous, Jane-chan!" he managed before bursting into another chortle. "You think- You think you know me? What? By watching me order a coffee from behind a book?" he sarcastically remarked.

"Of course not," she quietly snapped giving him a harsh gaze – that reminded the male of Kyoko Orojima – before it melted away. "So I'm guessing you kind of did fall for it, after all," the woman muttered gaining Izaya's interest for an instant. The bookworm the male mentioned, Hitomi Mitsuka, was actually a decoy. Jane knew her target was cautious, observant and before all an asshole. Hitomi was supposed to be bait for the manipulative narcissist to come up and… be himself. All while also being Asuno Kimii, researching and keeping track of 'Shinjuku's Most Dangerous Man.'

His present being; whether he was walking around in Shinjuku and occasionally Ikebukuro or casually hopping into black fancy cars occupying bulky men wearing dark shades – obviously part of some big-shot gangster mob. His past; what he did to others, that mental torture he put the woman's contractor through. Oh, how it made the woman's blood almost curdle. What a disgusting piece of shit. But then his family; two sisters who openly expressed that they wouldn't care if he was killed – and would, for Mairu Orihara at least, quite literally do it herself if she could – as well as the never present parents. Oh goody. So his parents were somewhat like the woman's. His frien- allies which were much fewer than his multitude of enemies. His planned events being malevolent or not… and yes, what he had for fucking breakfast. Which was usually nothing but a coffee, but enough about that! Instead of falling for the decoy though, Izaya kept tabs on Hitomi being suspicious. All the same. He didn't, and will most likely never find out about Asuno.

"You don't know me, Jane-chan." She heard from somewhere off in the distance. It came closer and closer until it finally registered.

"'I don't know you'?" the woman whispered incredulously. Jane repeated it to herself still not able to fathom this statement, even though she saw it coming. Giving a bitter laugh, "Do you not remember what happened the first time you were here?" she paused, recalling vomiting out his secrets one by one. Should she… do it again? Just to prove him wrong?

"Actually, I do remember. That was just as hilarious," he giggled yet again.

_'No. It wasn't funny. It was cruel,' _the woman told herself_. 'Don't do it.' _

Even though she was staring into his eyes, the raven could tell she was somewhere far off in the distance of her mind. The woman's gaze was soft as she brutally bit on her bottom lip as if trying to prevent words she'd regret from slipping out. Izaya curiously stared right back. What was she thinking? What was she so desperately holding back? Why was she biting her own lip that hard? It looked painful but she didn't stop; even when it was turning a dangerous red. "Jane-chan~" Izaya cooed, "You still in there?" he teased but there was no reply. However, the woman did let go of her lip which was surprisingly not bleeding, though its redness made it look as if she was wearing lipstick. The woman removed the long waved locks from her head and pulled out the wig cap. The smell of freshly washed hair filled the air around them, sweetening it with a rich perfume of her usual cocoa butter scent. It was funny how her hair color reflected its fragrance. That dark chocolate was in a tangled mess and yet… it seemed like it was styled that way. With kinks appearing as curls or the strands that fell in her face looking like newly cut bangs. The woman gracefully stood to gently lay the chestnut-colored wig on the coffee table. When she sat back down Jane was noticeably closer, staring into Izaya's watchful gaze.

Her month finally opened and spoke, "I'm here," she answered.

But Izaya didn't hear being in somewhat of a daze. "What?" he asked in merely a whisper hardly hearing himself. She gave him a slightly confused quirk in her brow before smoothing it out and shaking her head in dismissal.

"It's nothing," she paused. "Izaya, are you staying the night?" the woman's eyes shifted down to her wristwatch. Twelve to nine. It wasn't that late but…

The male blinked out of that strange giddiness, maybe it was just the scent fogging his brain. It was so strong after all. Yes, that had to be it. It wasn't as if he was 'mesmerized' by the woman's looks. He didn't care about that stuff. Izaya Orihara didn't care that Jane Doe was utterly fucking gorgeous. He didn't care. He didn't even notice… Not the shimmering gold in her eyes nor the red fiery undertones of her perfectly unkempt hair, her unblemished face, her soft skin. Not one bit. Not at all.

"Err… No, I should actually get back to Shinjuku." Izaya tore his eyes away from the witch casting this unknown spell. This curse. No! There was no curse, no spell, no daze! The male stood casually stretching his neck and back, and for extra normality, yawned widely. He had struggled at first, but like usual, he was back to being himself. "I have to be in Shibuya early tomorrow soo…" Izaya trailed off noticing his fuck up. Shit!

"Are you just trying to avoid me?" he heard Jane say lowly.

The raven let out a bitter chuckle and a smirk playing on his lips, deciding to do something crazy, "Yes, I am." He lolled his head back to her. Jane didn't seem perturbed by this; in fact, a pleasant upturn on reddened lips conveyed the opposite.

"Being honest? Who are you?" the woman teased with a little chuckle, glad that she hadn't burst out how much she really knew about the human standing before her. Jane wasn't going to make the same mistake. She had learned from last time.

"I'll have you know, Jane-chan, I don't lie. I merely… twist and tweak the truth," the male had to choose his words carefully but it still came out a little…

"That counts as lying, Izaya," she told him simply. "'I have to be in Shibuya early tomorrow'~" the woman mimicked mockingly in a weird deep voice that sounded nothing like him. "Why? What is it that's oh-so-important?"

Izaya found himself giving an easy giggle, he swung around and bent down to be face to face with her. Did he know the meaning of personal space? Yes, actually! But~ always ignored it! "You see. It's actually not important at all. I just simply want to go get a morning coffee from that café you – well, Kyo-chan – and I went to." When he finished, Jane burst out into a fit of laughter gently pushing his face away; reason 1, so she wouldn't accidentally headbutt him from her intense guffawing and reason 2… it made her a little uncomfortable. The raven was about to defy her nudge but with her long-sleeve falling down her wrist, broadcasting her scars to him… he found himself allowing her hand to press to his cheek and turn his head to the right. He could feel the breath of the woman's cackling on his neck. He could feel the softness of her hand, fingers that were ever-so delicate.

How could those be the hands of a cold-blooded killer? He knew the shit that she was capable of and yet part of him just couldn't see it. Sure, the unknown woman could spit harsh words and give a deathly glare but she…

She wasn't like anyone Izaya knew. Jane-chan wasn't like Shinra who didn't give a shit about anyone but himself and Celty. She cared for plenty and most importantly, **he** was one of them. Jane-chan wasn't like Dotachin who was always annoyed or at least somewhat bothered by the raven's presences. The woman wasn't even troubled when she was describing her first murder to him. Jane-chan wasn't a monster like Shizu-chan who constantly yelled and threw heavy objects at him. Sure, she almost threw a knife his way but when she saw it was Izaya she stopped. Even though he had still broken into her house! Jane-chan wasn't like his sisters who would never forgive him for what he told them, that there was no reason for there to be copies of the same person. She was overly sympathetic even after he had set those men to kidnap her! She had wrapped her arms around him, made him dinner, purposefully cheered him up… Jane-chan was so… welcoming, admittedly a bit too blunt at times but honest all the same. Jane-chan never cast him aside like he didn't matter, he even discovered that afternoon the woman would protect him if necessary. She never turned up her nose or ignored him; instead, she gave him all her attention. Jane-chan listened to and willingly responded to him and laughed with him. Did anyone else do that? Anyone?

No. It was only Jane Doe.

Izaya Orihara was accustomed to throwing unwanted or, in his eyes, unneeded thoughts and 'feelings' to back of his mind and so… that's exactly what he did.

Finally being able to get a hold of herself, Jane started, "Soo… All you did was replace 'want' with 'have.' Wow, I'm impressed. Twisting and tweaking." She gave a sarcastic applause. Izaya didn't even hesitate in stepping back to give a bow before slumping back down on the couch. He didn't feel like walking back to Shinjuku anyway. "I take it you're staying?" Jane asked in slight surprise.

That wasn't like him. Strange. Perhaps, he wasn't as successful as what he thought. Izaya hummed closing his eyes leaning his head back. "Is that an invitation? How bold, Jane-chan~" he cooed lowly giving her a suggest-full gaze but couldn't hold in a snort of laughter.

"Shut the fuck up," she deadpanned.

… Even with that dull expression, she was still somehow glowing. Not that Izaya cared or noticed…

* * *

Jane had to once again set up the recliner and quickly scramble through the fridge and pantry to find something quick to make and eat since the two had forgotten all about the existence of dinner. Izaya had waved a hand and told her he was happy with just another coffee but she gave no mind. No matter his excuse for it being 'too late' or his crappy reasoning of 'I'll have breakfast instead! And I never have breakfast so that's saying something.' There was not even a remote chance of him skipping yet another meal. Not on Jane's watch!

… Plus, she was hungry. She couldn't just eat while her guest went to bed with an empty stomach. No! Not happening. And so, two-minute-noodles it was. Not very nutritious admittedly. But it was better than nothing or coffee. God! How could Izaya sleep with all the fricking caffeine he consumed on a daily basis! Maybe that's why he was an insomniac. Who knows?

They both finished their bowls rather quickly and it was time to say goodnight. It's odd that sleeping together twice made it weird that they weren't in the same bed tonight. Jane had left for her own cozy bed and was cozily tucked in under the cozy blankets. It didn't even feel like the male was there, that she wasn't alone in this house. The night air was crisp on her exposed face. The woman shut her eyes in the darkness, lifting the covers to pull them up to her nose.

Jane did everything to fall asleep; the ever so boring counting sheep, counting back from one hundred and tensing all her muscles simultaneously as hard as she possibly could for ten long seconds to then fall into 'utter relaxation'. However, as usual, they didn't work. The woman was begging for her brain to just let her rest but it wouldn't. Being under the cozy soft blankets soon felt overly hot, becoming a bother rather than a comfort. And great! Now she was thirsty! Begrudgingly sitting up and swinging her legs off the edge of the bed, she wondered if Izaya was awake and if so she should probably put on a bra… Screw it.

The woman shuffled her way to the kitchen in the dark, careful not to make too much noise since the sound of deep steady breathing suggested her guest was fast asleep. Wait. Wasn't he supposed to be the insomniac? … Damn it.

Holding a glass under the tap she turned the cold-knob when a god awful sound came from the old clanging pipes. Jane quickly tightened the tap halting the piercing ringing and violent buzzing but it was too late. Izaya had snapped open his eyes hearing the pipes in the walls and Jane-chan's soft cursing. He let his lips stretch into a grin closing his eyes and relaxing his cheeks once more.

After downing the little water she received from the lousy ass tap that randomly made thunderous sounds every so often, the brunette proceeded to the recliner. Peeking over the headboard, "Oh come on, there's no way you're asleep after that," she proclaimed, hearing a chuckle from the fake sleeper.

"Do you do this on purpose, Jane-chan?" his voice came out as a mumble rather than the playful whisper he was intending. Before she could ask what he meant, the male added, "You seem to always wake me up, is all. It can't be purely coincidental," he teased.

Jane rolled her eyes even though Izaya wouldn't be able to see, "You know I can't control those bloody pipes from screeching." She motioned to sit on the edge of the recliner. "Izaya." The male sleepily hummed in response. "Can I lay down?"

"The correct grammar is, 'Can I lie down,' Jane-chan," the raven told her in a know-it-all fashion.

"You're trying to avoid my question," Jane drawled.

"But is it even a question, or is it simply a request?" Izaya felt a small jolt sway the mattress, not a word leaving her mouth. He let a huff of a laugh out. "You can if you want, this is your house meaning this is your recliner. But don't fall asleep, now~" he sang in an undemanding warning. However, he had meant what he said.

"Why not?" she managed to whisper as she lied her head down.

Izaya repeated the words curiously, humming to find an answer. "Well, I guess the universal reason would be because we are of opposite genders but we are not in the particular relationship to advance to such intimacies," his tone was casual but his speech was anything but; as if he was a high-schooler repeating words from a textbook.

"Okay… There are a few things I want to say to that but first of all, if that's the universal reason then what's your reason?" Jane inquired while pulling the blanket up to her nose like before.

The raven was finding it hard to respond, "There are too many to even start," he sighed out, his thoughts escaping from him as the male closed his eyes. Jane felt his breath on her forehead. In the darkness, she only had a vague idea where the male was but it couldn't have been that close, right? The woman decided that she'd let Izaya rest since he was obviously tired. And to be completely honest, she was feeling the weight of her eyelids too. Letting them fall shut was probably a mistake but it didn't matter for the raven had called out to her in a mumble. Her eyes barely obeyed her will to open as she hummed. "You're going to fall asleep here if you don't get up now," Izaya whispered attempting to add in a singsong-like tone however epically failing thanks to his drowsiness.

"Why are you so intent on-" Jane cut herself off. "Oh, I get it. Pushing me away yet again, I see," she sighed. "Izaya," Jane paused, "This may sound ridiculously cheesy but bear with me… I may not be able to break down your walls but I'm sure as hell that I can at least climb over them, no matter how much you refuse my friendship," she finished with such confidence closing her eyes again.

Izaya stared into the black space where he was sure the woman was lying. Relaxed and warm. So warm. Why was she so fixated on him? Why was she so comfortable with him? Why was she so kind to him? Why could she so easily forgive him? Why did she want to be his friend? Did anyone else do the same things she did, act the same way she acted or want the same things she wanted? No. No one.

Only Jane Doe.

Why had that thought come back to him so easily? And why couldn't he throw it away this time?


	24. A Cage a Key or Vise

**Warning: The following content may have destressing themes... **

* * *

Izaya had awoken way too fucking early for his liking, hearing an alarm loudly sounding in another room down the small hallway. And fucking great. He had a crookneck from placing his pillow in between him and the woman to his right, thanks to her clinginess. It had taken forever to get himself unattached from her! It was like she was keeping him hostage from the way she rested her right leg on his and gently brushed up against his ticklish feet with her foot. All while she clung to his chest and made herself comfortable, digging her nose into the sensitive skin of his neck. He instantly damned the weird thought of _'if Jane-chan was a vampire, and awake, would she want to feast upon my neck?_'

But when the woman had intertwined their fingers, Izaya couldn't do it anymore. He knew he was only in his twenties and that dying of a heart attack was highly unlikely, however, whatever rational thoughts he had left were overthrown at that moment. Not that he'd ever admit it.

The raven had no choice but to, ever-so fucking slowly, give Jane **his** pillow. His pillow! Fricking pillow thief! Oh! Oh! And let's not forget how much his back ached from this shitty mattress! … Okay, well, the pain wasn't that bad but it was there! Alright!

With his eyes still closed he groaned in annoyance. It was as if the ringing alarm had heard him, turning itself off ready to sound again in ten minutes or so. Why did the woman even have it set so fucking early? Izaya admittedly had no idea to what the time exactly was but he knew before dawn was ridiculously early; he could tell it was still dark through his eyelids.

He could assume that Jane-chan was on morning shift again for the café. What was that place called again? Kohi-Kabe? Yeah, that had to be it. But the mangers schedule for the week said Mae-chan would be on afternoons, then again she wasn't yesterday. Oh well. It didn't matter anyway. Not when Jane didn't even flinch at the sound that had started ringing out yet again. Izaya finally opened his eyes, only just making out his surroundings. The brunette just kept on silently snoozing while her phone in the other room yelled out to her. Apparently, his efforts and suffering had been for naught since the irksome woman wasn't even cuddling up to his pillow separating them. Perhaps the pillow didn't suffice anymore now that she knew what it was like to snuggle with a huma- Ahem! … warm body.

Izaya had a few options but none of them appealed to the male at all. Either, get up and turn off the alarm himself, waking Jane in the process. Or purposefully wake up Jane-chan and risk having to converse with her. Take his pillow back, throwing it over his head and ignoring the irritating constants, also resulting in waking Jane. Or just straight-up leave. The raven could do that last one but… it was so early~ He didn't feel like walking for an hour. He didn't even want to walk down the hallway to Jane's room.

Before Izaya knew it, the alarm had gone off five times and sunlight streamed in through a slit in between the beige curtains. The line of light glided up and up until the raven noticed it upon himself and… her. For a moment, Izaya imagined it some type of string that was tying him and the unknown woman together. But that was ridiculous. He didn't believe in such illogical idiocy like 'fate' or 'destiny.' That was all bullshit. The idea of it only exists for humans to feel about themselves. It was actually quite interesting how they allowed themselves to believe in beautiful lies and needed pretenses. Did Jane believe in that stuff? Izaya would have to ask her later.

But she still needed to wake up. Fuck it, the second option it was, "Jane-chan~" his coo came out more like a croaky whine. When the woman didn't stir he tried again a little louder, "Jane-chan." The male waited for a reply, but there was nothing, only silence. Being ignored was irritating him more than it usually would… Was it because it was Jane doing the ignoring?

What a silly thought. She was asleep. Of course, she wouldn't respond to him. But even so, she was still going to pay! Muhahaha! Propping his chin up on his palms, elbows digging into the mattress, he gave a long hum. What should he do? A wet-willy was a teensy bit childish but it did sound quite hilarious however, not far enough.

The male had given quite some thought but maybe what he was planning was a little too… weird. Oh well! It would get her attention that was for sure. Izaya giggled moving closer and closer to the woman's ear until his grinning lips were only an inch away. Hopefully, she wouldn't stab him… Oh well! At that he poked out his tongue licking the woman's ear. He received the jolt he was expecting, as well as a knife to his throat. However, when she snapped her chin toward him instead of the woman's icy glare, wide eyes and a hint of a blush fell upon her features.

"What are you doing?" Despite her expression, the woman's voice was low, dangerous.

Izaya felt the cold metal pressing hard against his neck's skin. Although, warm liquid never dripped or trickled down to his chest. Was she holding the blunt side to him? Naww~ "Waking you up," he whispered, still taking in that color upon her cheeks. "Why are you blushing, Jane-chan?" the male teased, that mother-fucking smirk on his lips as he gazed down to the woman beneath him. But instead of spitting back acid words or denying deeply, Jane filled her lungs with air; slowly letting it free.

What the fuck made him think this was okay? Where in the hell did he get this daunting and highly fucking disturbing idea! "Izaya. Off… Now." Her command was quiet but the tone was hard as stone. Yet somehow, all Izaya could hear was a fragile shaking voice.

It only took a second for the male leaning over Jane to figure out what she was thinking. Maybe this was a good thing. Maybe this way she wouldn't be so comfortable with him. Maybe… with this… her goal of 'climbing his walls' would die. That was a good thing… wasn't it? After all, whatever this relation was, it wasn't a 'good thing'. It was dangerous in many ways, really. So far, Jane Doe's kill-count was eighty-six humans; and Izaya had only roughly completed a little more than two years of info. Mostly, two victims per month; sometimes, three even four. Rarely one. But never zero. At least, not until 'Maemi Shimizu'. Why did he have to keep reminding himself about that? Why did it not feel real?

Oh yeah. That's right. "You're holding the blade the wrong way, silly," Izaya mentioned before pushing himself off Jane Doe and flopping down again on his back, staring up at the ceiling. It was so low compared to his apartment.

Jane sat up wrapping part of the blanket around herself, "You knew?" she asked flatly staring at the blade in her hand.

"Well, from how forcefully you were pressing it to my sensitive skin," the male exaggeratedly exclaimed in mock-fatigue before continuing, "It should have at least made a minor incision," he told her.

Flicking back the knife and putting it away, she spat, "Minor? Remember that you're used to cutting Shizuo's thick skin not oh-so-delicate you," she rolled her eyes obviously not in the mood for his teasing. But at that comment, Izaya fell silent. His eyes stared still upon the ceiling. Not blinking, not moving at all. He was utterly stiff. Just that practiced upturn on his lips. It was uncharacteristically hollow. However, she had seen this before… Why was he hurt? How did that comment upset him?

"Izaya?" the brunette called. He airily hummed in response still unseeingly pointing his gaze upward. Jane opened her mouth to speak yet all that came from her were little gasps and shaky breaths. He didn't. He couldn't have. That wasn't like him. But then ideas and speculations found their way into her brain. Was that the reason he always wore that jacket or the three-quarter-sleeved shirt under it – even on the hottest days of summer? The shirt was probably just enough covered them. That's why she wore long-sleeves after all. And Izaya didn't care about pain. If he was struck by Shizuo, he'd get up and pretend it either didn't happen or he didn't feel it, exclaiming merely an 'Ouch' even though blood dripped down his chin. He practically greeted pain as if it was an old friend. Did that suggest he was used to it?

An alarm sounded, breaking Jane from her thoughts. She snapped her head in the direction of the siren. Shit. Work, the café. Her shift. Shit!

"Oh yeah," the male said gaining her attention. "That alarm's been going off for like… an hour now," he mentioned vaguely, his eyes finally looking her way. And even though she probably only had five minutes to get ready without being late, Jane couldn't look away. In fact, she found herself lying back down and sliding over closer to him when, for the first time, she noticed the pillow between him and her. Gold flickered down then back up to where Izaya's unsupported neck was. "Did you put this here?" she asked, though it was rather evident he had. Izaya gave a simple nod then went on desperately complaining how sore his neck and back were. And how much it wasn't worth it. But nevertheless, his action wasn't going to be so easily thrown over board. However, the creepy ear licking wasn't forgotten either… just kept in mind for later.

Jane tugged the pillow out from under the blankets and silently offered it back to him. Izaya hesitated to take it. Was she going jump him and expose his sc- Was he being paranoid? She couldn't know just from that little slip-up… right? But say if she did suspect him, it's not like she could talk. There was no doubt the woman had scratched and sliced her own skin more than he ever had. It was… just one. The male never made a habit of it. Of course, he didn't… wouldn't. In fact, he hadn't even thought of it in a very, very, very long time.

Making sure to take the cushion with his right hand, perhaps grasping it too tightly, he was proven to be paranoid. Jane hadn't forced up his sleeve or pinned him in some way. Izaya then placed the pillow comfortably under his crookneck, humming in somewhat satisfaction.

"Is that better?" she whispered. The tenderness in her voice unsettled the male. Jane-chan was biting her lip again, worry easily distinguishable on her features. "I can massage your neck if you like," she offered already sitting up to do so.

"That won't be necessary," Izaya denied keeping up his causal tone even in this situation. The worry the woman felt had nothing to do with his neck. She knew. She fucking knew. He wasn't being paranoid this time, he could tell. "You need to get to work, Jane-chan. You'll be late~" he sang warningly. But Jane didn't leave. Instead, the raven felt fingers grazing against his hand. It didn't matter that it was his unscarred right, it took a great deal of self-control to not flinch away. Even though the raven successfully accomplished in removing his hand from her wanting hold… it most likely only gave her assurance of what he was capable of.

Pulling back her fingertips, Jane slowly responded, "I'm gonna call in sick." She shifted the covers trying to get out of the tangled mess.

"You're what?" Izaya inquired. "Naww~ is poor Jane-chan feeling under the weather?" Izaya teased knowing that this wasn't the case. Now with her back to him, the woman glanced his way, her loose cotton sweater falling off her shoulder. He saw a few scars on her back, obviously not created by her. It looked to be from a whip striking her hard. However, the male noticed… there was no bra strap. He really didn't know which was more… bothersome? Why would either of them be 'bothersome'? She quickly fixed the clothing only nodding slightly to his words. He chuckled lightly, "No, you're not."

"Too bad," she said simply shrugging her shoulders. If the brunette wasn't still holding her shirt in place it would have fallen again.

Izaya was unable to hold his tongue, "Jane-chan, you really need to buy clothes that actually fit you. I get that you don't want to go around showing off your physique but purchasing clothes four times bigger than you isn't something anyone should do! And it's not like it's helping," he rambled. "I mean, come on," the male exaggerated rolling his whole head with his eyes. "Why don't you just buy clothes that are styled to be baggy! Not those cheap crappy shirts in the men's section."

"I don't go to the men's sec-

"Well, it looks like you do," he pointed out. "Anyhow, you-

"Enough!" she stopped him. "Okay… I get that you want to change the subject but this is ridiculous," she paused. Knowing Izaya would be uncomfortable if she faced him directly, she dragged her gaze elsewhere. "We don't need to say anything about it," Jane told him. "You don't need to confirm or deny, and you definitely don't need to show me. And if you have no idea what I'm talking about then that's okay. More than 'okay'. But… If you do know, then," the woman struggled, fidgeting with a corner of the bedspread in her lap. "Then you'll understand why I'm going to tell you this." Jane deeply inhaled before continuing. "It's somehow… relieving in a way. In a terrible way, of course… I'm not really one to do drugs but I guess, that's what people compare it to. 'A vise'. But it's so much more than that. I'm not addicted. It's not a habit. It's just an **outlet**. I don't want to die. That's not why I-" Jane clicked her tongue. "… I going to say 'did' but that would probably be a lie. So… 'do'. That's not why I do it," she finished. "For some reason, it's a release. A release of everything. You're sad and you're angry. You tell yourself to hold it in until you're alone. Hold it in. Hold it in! And when you're finally alone, you tell yourself to explode. But when you go to cry you can't. And when you go to scream it doesn't come out. The feelings that you caged, you don't know how to unlock them. Then you're choking, you can't breathe. Your mind is foggy, and you don't give a shit anything! You don't, you **can't** think about what happens later. You're just thinking about now. Cutting is easy. Cutting releases the cage. It feels like it's the only key. It lets you feel everything and yet… nothing at the same time."

Jane, still sitting on the edge of the bed gripped at the sheets hearing the alarm go off again. Oh, wait, no. It was her ringtone. It was probably her boss calling. Fuck it. "Does that make sense?" the brunette threw her head back to Izaya who was watching and listening silently. Jane couldn't decide whether she liked his usual pretend grin or the genuine sag in his lips he was giving her now. But his eyes were the same; that almost unchanging stiffness.

Izaya mused a hum, "I guess, but… you're telling me this because…?" the male blinked 'cluelessly'.

And that confirmed it. He understood what her experiences were like… not that all of them were the same. The first time, she did it to make herself undesirable. Later, she began to do it to escape the numbness and sometimes it was the other way around, to be numb. Or as a way to remember a day of importance… or maybe some days, she believed she deserved punishment. And she'd even fucking do it 'just because' or 'why the fuck not'.

Izaya probably only related to bits and pieces. Everyone was different, after all.

But what the fuck was she doing! The brunette was supposed to give the garnet-eyed male a reason **not** to do it! Not the other way around! The woman kicked herself before taking another deep breath, "Umm… I-I'm still getting to my point," Jane exhaled.

It wasn't long before the male spluttered into a chuckle; his feigned curl decorating his otherwise neutral expression… Jane resolved on his genuine face. It wasn't that he looked unappealing with a smile; it would just be better if it was sincere. She had seen it on a few occasions, but they never really lasted long. It was as if he caged even the positive emotions. "Are you planning on telling me that there is another 'key' or something?" Izaya playfully teased after finishing his hysterics that were toned-down compared to his others.

"To be completely honest… I haven't found one," she admitted grimly. "I'm just under the impression that you do- … Or at least, did it." Jane made sure to keep her words up in the air as if they were merely ideas instead of pure hard fact. "And I wanted you to know that I know what it's like. I may not have done it in a long time but… I remember."

"Hmm~ How long's it been?" he asked almost in song.

He really couldn't be serious for more than ten bloody seconds. "A little more than seven months," she told with a hint of pride in her voice. "I'm doing rather well, I'd say." The woman stood up and stretched out her muscles. Maybe… it was better not to be so serious. "I better tell the boss I'm not coming in…" she yawned out, even though Jane knew she'd get an ear full from Mae- her boss. She'd just have to pretend she had a sore throat and sneeze a lot. Time to sniff some grounded pepper.

Izaya watched the brunette shuffle to the kitchen then quickly make her way to her phone that was ringing yet again.

… More than seven months… That was considered 'good'? Well if that was the case, he was going fucking great! It had been a year from him. But Izaya didn't want to think about that anymore. _'It's just a teensy bit depressing~' _he sang in his head as he hummed the random tune aloud. And plus there were more pressing matters! Jane-chan was taking the day because of him. Damn it. He shouldn't have woken her up. The male should've slipped out the window or something. Or maybe… he could just do that now. Jane was busy on the phone so-

"Yes!" Jane cheered in a nasally tone, sneezing then rubbing her flushed nose, "Thank you, pepper," the woman mumbled her thanks half-heartedly. "No work for today or tomorrow!" she explained at the raven's gaze.

Well, looks like that plan was doomed from the start… "My! How slothful of you, Jane-chan!" Izaya teased.

Raising an eyebrow, Jane rolled her eyes and went to stand over him. "You have the nerve to call me slothful while you're still in bed?" she asked sardonically.

Flipping on his stomach, "Well, I'm still tired, thanks to a certain woman. Say, you wouldn't happen to know who she is?" the male cooed tilting his head. But the moment he did, the ache in his neck intensified, "Ah-" He plopped his head back on the pillow and massaged the sharp pain. "Ouchy~" he complained pouting exaggeratedly giving a "Humph!" Hearing a short giggle he lifted his eyes to her golden. They certainly glowed brighter with a smile… Fuck. Yet another weird thought he'd have to shove to the back of his brain. He closed his eyes as if this would somehow help.

"You sure you don't want a massage?" Jane-chan questioned. The raven hummed trying to decide before simply shrugging as he accepted mildly. "Okay!" she clapped and rubbed her hands together thinking what the best and most comfortable position, for the both of them, would be. Jane paced her way to the dining table and pinched a chair leaving the only other looking lonely. She carried it over to the foot of the recliner and placed it down as if the mattress was a low desk.

Finding himself locking his gaze on the woman again, Izaya noticed she was wearing it different top. It wasn't fitting a lot of course, but at least the shoulder seams were in the correct place. The cozy-looking hoodie was a purplish-maroon that complimented her eyes, though Izaya doubted she knew that. Jane probably only brought it because it was dark.

The female snatched her pillow and set it down in front of the chair, patting it invitingly. Izaya gave his little smirk before following her unsaid instructions. "Oh wait! Lotion!" The brunette darted somewhere off in the hallway leaving the raven staring up at the ceiling; then came back with a white and bronze bottle. Taking her seat, she squeezed some cream into her palm and rubbed her hands together. The smell of cocoa butter sweetened the air. The woman rather enjoyed the scent so she often purchased products with that specific perfume. Though, she was never really able to smell it on herself. Maybe she was just too used to it.

Luckily Izaya's shirt was a stretchable material so she could simply slip her hands under without too much difficulty. But, to be honest, Izaya hadn't imagined this. In his head, the massage was going to be a quick rub over the safet- the comfort of his shirt. However, once her warm hands glided upon his skin he found himself questioning why he wanted something so distance and shallow. Wait… What?

But before he could start arguing with himself, Jane had pressed down way too hard. "Ah- Oww~" the male complained, "Not so rough, Jane-chan~"

"Oh! Sorry," she quickly softened her technique. But giggled having a thought, knowing these words were extremely inappropriate but… too bad. "Sooo…" she cooed promptly, "You like _it_ gentle? How unexpected!" she whispered, admittedly tempted to say it in his ear though that would be going too far. Izaya gave a small quirk in his eyebrow, but as he came to understand the dirty joke it disappeared as a smile crept up and a chuckle escaped his lips… _'That's better,' _the brunette inwardly sighed.

Still rubbing his neck the woman came into Izaya's view being upside-down to him; it probably wasn't the most flattering angle since he'd be able to see up her nose if she looked straight ahead. But she didn't, it seemed as though she'd rather keep her eyes on him… again giving him all this attention. "I'll get greedy if you keep doing that, Jane-chan," he whispered though it wasn't even audible to his ears. Good. That meant she didn't hear it either-

"What do you mean?" she asked.

Shit. "Oh, nothing. It's just you're **gentle** massages are soo~ good~" he told her as a cover-up, it was true though.

She laughed, "Oh, I see," Jane said, making the raven worry he hadn't been believable enough. "You want me to do your back as well, right?" she said seeming to have no problem with it.

Izaya giggled. Well, now that she mentioned it, "Yes please!" he cheered.

"Manners? Who are you?" Jane said ironically, laughing.

"I'm not socially inept, Jane-chan. I just choose to be… a wee bit… different."

The unknown woman scrunched up her face in thought, "Izaya, there are many ways to describe you but 'a wee bit different' doesn't do you justice," she resolved shaking her head but smiling all the while. "Come on. Flip over so I can do your back." He did as he was told. "Can… Can I lift up your shirt a bit?" she gingerly asked.

"My! How bold~" The raven giggled, hearing the woman chuckle. What was with the dirty jokes, anyway? Wasn't it kind of… like flirting? Well, that thought made him uncomfortable… That just proved it wasn't flirting! Yeah! Just… having a laugh after something pretty darn gloomy. That's all…

* * *

**Author here! Umm... You can disagree with this opinion of mine about Izaya. However, I will expand on it in the future to convince you!**** And before anyone asks. No, I do not use Jane's key, however, I do personally know two people who have. That's all I'll say about it.**

**Anyway! How are you liking the longer chapters every two weeks or so? Or do you prefer the shorter chapters every week? If you'd like to, let me know in a review!**


	25. Forgotten Task

Now that Jane-chan had gotten all Izaya's knots out of his back, the male was feeling a thousand times lighter. However, his neck still twinged every so often when he turned it too fast or too far back. Still, he could have sworn Jane-chan had magical hands! How else was it possible to feel this fricking good after his terrible fucking morning?

The awfulness only adding when he received a call from Shiki-san. Izaya had forgotten all about Shiki-san's request to find a certain member of the Awakusu Kai. What did he think Izaya was? Some kind of detective? The raven chuckled at his own joke. He vaguely wondered if Jane, who was making breakfast, heard him but apparently not. She just kept on humming a melancholic tune. Izaya had definitely heard it before but couldn't pinpoint it for the life of him. No! Focus! He needed to focus!

The due date for all the info was tomorrow. Luckily for him, Izaya had already found and even interacted with the guy. The adult wannabe, Kumaru Awakusu was the foolish boy who got a peek in the dark at Jane-chan's face during the failed kidnapping. He obviously had no idea how to use a gun but kept a pistol tucked into the belt of his ridiculously tight pants. Wasn't it supposed to be 'cool' nowadays to have unreasonably baggy pants that were almost falling off every time when taking a step, displaying half of whatever was underneath. Whether one wore boxers or briefs or was simply free-balling it. Izaya had to disagree on the look but come on. How was Kumaru-kun ever comfortable? Go on, guess… That's right. Never! Of course, he was going to be so tense all the time with his dick being crushed! … Unless he just had a really small pen- Nevermind that. The point was; what the hell was with these humans and their crappy fashion sense! It being too baggy or tight.

Even the monsters disguised as humans did it; looking like they were in a fucking costume stomping around in that 'fancy' vest and bow-tie which screamed 'I'm gay!' from ten million miles away. Izaya understood that Kusuka had bought a few sets for Shizu-chan and all, but what did that matter? And how many of those get-ups did the little idol buy? Surely by now, they would have all ripped and stained with all the fights Shizuo got into, whether it being Izaya's doing or not. The raven was sure that the ex-bartender sat home alone sewing up the pieces of rag or scrubbing vigorously until the blood washed out of the white button-up shirt. Ridiculous! If Mairu and Kururi had gotten Izaya a new jacket, even if it looked the same as he fur-trimmed one, he wouldn't wear it. It would undoubtedly be booby-trapped! Thumbtacks in the pockets or something.

… When and how did he swerve off the tracks this far?

Anyway, back to the gun. It was currently in Jane's possession; however, Izaya had no clue where it was, nor the other firearm from Hisashi Sasouharu. Not that he really cared about the weapons. At least Jane-chan knew how to use the damn things. Speaking of Jane-chan, her sense of clothes practically didn't even exist. Izaya even wondered how long it had been since she went shopping… Wait… When did he last do that? He had been wearing that particular jacket for a while now, washed of course! But he couldn't that it was so credibly comfy; not to mention the convenient inner pockets where he could stash throwing-knifes if he needed them that day.

There he went again! Focus!

The unfortunate part of the dwindling mission was that he hadn't seen Kumaru-kun since that time in the café where Nakura was hilariously attempting to gain followers to overpower Izaya. As if that could ever happen! But anyway! Kumaru-kun seemed a little hesitant to join Nakura's operation and since Izaya had interrupted their meeting, the human could have gone either way. Join or say 'forget it'. However, it didn't change the fact he had completely gone off the rails after that. He was being searched for by the Awakusu Kai and their connections. And he most certainly suspected Izaya was searching for him too, and sure, Izaya was but not for the reasons the boy thought. He was simply hired to. The raven wasn't out for blood or something as silly as that. But with that irrational thought in his mind, the human was bound to choose the stupid option. Turn to Nakura. It had already been a week or so ago. Shit. If there was any time at all, then it wouldn't be long before Kumaru did just that. Izaya had suspected it to happen from the start but had pushed back for later… until 'later' was forgotten.

It really wasn't like Izaya to forget or to even leave any tasks, especially Shiki-san's assignments for last minute! But he couldn't help that he was… distracted… No, not distracted. Just busy. Busy with his own interests and self-assigned tasks. There was so much to do, so much to uncover about Jane Doe. Izaya didn't care about this missing Awakusu. The adult wannabe was so dull and boring! All Kumaru-kun wanted was to show initiative to his yakuza crowd and prove that he wasn't a useless coward… which he kind of was. But he did surprise Izaya when the eighteen-year-old agreed, with very little persuading, to his recruitment for the kidnapping of 'Maemi Shimizu'. Of course, he only did it because Izaya made sure to get under his fragile skin with the young Awakusu's inferiority complex. However, his true cowardice stole him in the moment of truth, having a gun pointed directly to his head.

Of course, Izaya couldn't inform Shiki-san that he was the instigator of the operation however it was downright dangerous to lie to the Awakusu Kai. Then again Izaya rather enjoyed taking risky gambles; he'd happily skip away on an incredibly thin rope. Then again, when it got close to snapping, he'd always make sure he was out of harm's way. Always. He'd rather not die, thank you very much.

Izaya paused his rapidly-paced typing on his laptop's keyboard taking a sip of a hot cup of coffee. Jane-chan obviously didn't go all the way to Shibuya to get one each for them both but she did make him an instant coffee which was better than nothing. He didn't know why, but for some reason, it was more enjoyable than what he could make for himself. Magic hands, indeed. Izaya gazed into the dark substance seeing a grin ripple on the surface. Why was he smiling?

Once the male heard steps coming his way he set his half-full mug down, going back to hacking the recordings of security cameras near the café in Shibuya. In the corner of his eye, he saw Jane place two small bowls of Miso soup with mushrooms, pickled tofu, and wakame seaweed. Soon, white rice was added to the table, as well as rolled omelet on the side. The alluring smell alone was enough for the male's mouth to salivate even though he really wasn't hungry. But with that aroma teasing his nose, he wouldn't be able to help himself.

"Why so… healthy?" he asked cheekily giggling in the process.

"Because we had shitty two-minute noodles last night," Jane reminded him simply.

Izaya closed his laptop scooting over to the traditional Japanese 'banquet'. With the first bite, the raven knew he was never going to taste anything better than this… except otoro. Of course, he couldn't cook anything as delectable as what Jane was capable of; but Izaya meant the meals from those high-end restaurants he commonly visited. Nothing was ever going to beat this… except otoro. "Jane-chan, you seriously need to consider becoming a chief." At the suggestion, Jane snorted. "What? It's soo~ goo~ood!" Izaya moaned chomping on a rolled-omelet piece.

She connected her golden gaze with his, "Umm… Thanks," she spoke softly with a warm smile. "That's good. I'm glad you like it," the woman mentioned quickly before starting to spoon the soup into her mouth.

* * *

The male's laptop's battery was running on less than forty percent, not having a charger with him. It wasn't like he suspected that he was going to stay with Jane-chan this long. In fact, why hadn't he left yet? Sure, she had taken the day off for him but it wasn't as if he felt any obligation to stay. And they weren't even talking much; Izaya had made it clear that he had work to do. At first, Jane didn't believe him but once he opened his laptop and showed her the system he was trying to hack into, the woman blinked mumbling something to herself before simply shrugging her shoulders. She watched him a little longer before deciding she was bored and went to fold in the recliner.

At the moment, Jane was finally trying to tackle all the washed, waiting-to-be-folded clothes in the rather large basket. She had gotten halfway through when Izaya's grin slipped off his face and grew into an intense and serious stare at the screen. He had broken through the system agers ago and had searched for Kumaru, Nakura and the scrawny twig in the recordings, even attempting to spot himself and 'Kyoko Orojima' but nothing.

"Izaya?"

Izaya was there! He knew the times, the places they were and even the fucking song playing in the background of the café. But nothing. The footage had to have been tampered with. Shit!

Jane raised a brow at being utterly ignored. She finished folding a sweater and set it on the folded pile, making her way behind Izaya's chair at the dining table. "You're getting rather serious there," she chuckled. He was finally kicked out of his own mind as he looked back at her. Her hands rested on either side of his chair's headrest. "You having trouble?"

Izaya huffed out a laugh before speaking, "Of course not, Jane-chan. Everything's under contr-

"Hey, that's Shibuya, right?" the woman asked staring at the screen.

"Yes it is!" he cheered, a sure sign that everything wasn't under control.

"So what's the problem? You've got through and," the woman pressed 'Alt' then 'Tab' on the keyboard to see his other tabs.

"Hey! Jane-chan~" he whined. If Shiki knew Izaya didn't keep this confidential, the thug wouldn't be very… happy.

"You've got a lot of security camera recordings of Shibuya on the… '19th of April'" she read slowing down at remembering that day. "Ohhh… So that's what's wrong," the woman chuckled.

"What's so funny?" the male pouted. Jane took a seat in the other chair giving him a guilty smile. "You're the one who replaced the footage," he drawled not even a question. She scrunched up her face and nodded. Izaya sighed, what was he going to do now? He needed some kind of evidence that Kumaru was alive and to prove that Izaya hadn't abandoned the task so he could save his own ass. "You don't happen to have a copy of the real thing?" he asked already knowing the answer. Jane shook her head left to right and bit her lip, though it looked more like she was trying to stop herself from laughing.

"Why do you- pff- you need the footage anyway?" by the little giggles in between her words Izaya was confirmed to be right.

He quickly lifted his face with a smirk, realizing that it had switched off, "Why did you get rid of the footage?" he countered.

"Because 'Kyoko Orojima' isn't meant to be in Shibuya," she answered simply.

"You do realize you've made my job harder than what it has to be?" he remarked bitterly. "I could've completed this a day, you know."

"If you don't want to do it that badly then don't. Seriously, I don't see why you put yourself through all this stress," she drawled leaning back and slouching in her chair.

"Stress? I'm not stressed," Izaya chuckled out.

"From all the knots in your neck, shoulders and back that, let me remind you, I massaged out I'd say you're really fucking stressed. Just chill, dude! You're rich, you don't have to make a million yen every week," she exclaimed now comfortably kicking her foot up on the edge of her chair.

At that, the male's eyebrows raised. "I don't do it for the money, Jane-chan," he truthfully told slightly shaking his head in disbelief.

"Exactly!" Jane clicked her fingers and pointed to the ceiling. "So it's okay to take a break once in a-

Izaya interrupted, deciding to get to the point. The point being she was, satisfyingly, wrong. "I was hired by Awakusu Kai and they want shit done by tomorrow. While I have practically nothing for them. So, no, I don't think I can take a break. Otherwise, I'll have a bullet go through my head, parts of my brain blown out on the side of a sleek black car, lying on the dirty hard ground of some abandoned building. Then Shiki-san will nonchalantly demand to have his car cleaned of my blood as he steps over my motionless body," Izaya announced with a grin on his face. "I'd rather not be that, so if you please, leave me to my work." He turned back to the screen typing whatever came to mind so it looked as though he was busy. He didn't know if the scenario he just rambled out would actually happen but Izaya was damn sure Shiki wouldn't hesitate if Izaya did the wrong thing. The gangster would give him one chance but… that one chance was most likely already used up.

Jane stared at the male typing away, golden eyes wide. She knew how the Awakusu's could be… Shit. "Do you want help?" at her question his fast fingers halted for only a millisecond before continuing as if he had never stopped. "I can try to recover what I deleted… but I'm deleting it again when you're finished," she added quickly.

That smirk arose once more, "**If** you can recover it, you mean. Don't get so cocky~" the male cooed lowly. Jane let her mouth gape open pressing a hand to her lips expressing such 'offense' to his words, before standing and leaving for her laptop that she rarely ever used. It obviously wasn't the same one as she had during her… life before Maemi Shimizu, since she had utterly destroyed it. She came back quickly setting the new laptop up and getting to work.

Quite some time passed in silence, only tapping and clicking from each of their laptops. In all honesty, Izaya couldn't do much without knowing where Kumaru had gone after the café incident. He supposed he could type notes on what he could tell Shiki the next day and think of any questions the gangster would touch on and as a result, be ready for any outcome. But he had already finished doing that… mostly. Izaya's mind was beginning to wonder again. And since the pair were sitting across from each other, the male couldn't stop his gaze from drifting up and past his screen until his eyes landed on Jane. Her chocolate hair was still in a tangled mess… Should he tell her? Naa~ It was actually weirdly cute… Was that considered another 'weird thought'? Oh, fuck it. Izaya could think what he wanted about his humans! It didn't matter that he knew Jane had a pretty face. The raven turned his eyes back down to his screen.

With all humans, the male could tell whether they were considered to be beautiful or hideous but that didn't necessarily mean he personally had an opinion. Izaya had never felt any real 'attraction' to any human! The idea was unfathomable! Not to mention, it would be unfair for them. He couldn't go having favorites! No. That's not how loving humanity worked! Izaya just simply gave some humans more attention than others.

Why! Even his first time, Mikage-chan, he didn't feel anything! The raven knew she was regarded as 'sexy' back then with her slim and less muscular shape than now, and her body's curvy features, but that's it. It was okay to think such things because it was just a fact. Not a shred of opinion. In fact, if he allowed himself to add his opinion, it would be that he thought the boyish woman's breasts were, ironically, too big. Was that weird? Men seemed to adore a woman's large chest. Izaya had spotted them countless times seeming to not have control of their eyeballs as a big-breasted lady passed by, even when their own woman was standing next to them. Izaya for one had always looked into humans' faces, not their chest area. And after being fucking smothered in them for an unbearable twenty minutes with sweat, hot breath and nails scratching his back, he certainly wouldn't go for it again. Although…

Garnet eyes had made their way back up to the woman across from him… Jane-chan didn't have a large chest… Was that considered a weird thought? No. It was… it was just a fact. Jane probably didn't even fit into a B-cup. And that was probably deemed as unattractive or not sexy. Would Izaya allow himself to think his opinion? Absolutely not. Did unwanted thoughts hit him in the face anyway? Absolutely… _not!_

"Izaya?" the woman spoke up, wondering why he had been giving her a look every so often in their silence. The raven blinked out of his… rather disturbing thoughts and hummed in question. Jane quirked an eyebrow, "Are you that surprised that I'm helping you?" she asked completely misjudging his intense gaze. It was strange. She'd always lose her ability to read him when he was thinking… inappropriate things. No! It was just facts!

Yeah. Facts that didn't need to be brought attention to. Izaya stopped the argument there with a reply, "Well, I thought you wanted to get away from this dangerous lifestyle, no?" He was speaking part of his mind, just not the louder portion. "It is a teensy bit… Mmm…" Izaya trailed off deciding what to say. "It's just…" the male found himself chuckling at not being able to come up with something without sounding… kind of bleak and blue. He laughed more trying to stop so he could speak, "It's- pff! It's just thaha- that for someone to do this, I'd need to threaten thehehee~ them or something!" he exclaimed guffawing so hard his stomach hurt.

Jane, on the other hand, didn't find the comment laugh-worthy on any level. She slowly rose from her chair dragging it over to sit by him. Izaya's giggling fit gradually coming to an end as the brunette silently watched. Once he calmed down once more Jane reached out to his hand on now on his lap. Again, it took so much self-control to stop himself from flinching away. What was with her? Why did she do the things she did? Izaya needed to stop this. But instead of removing his hand from her's, Izaya just let his gaze fall upon the woman's dainty hand that rested upon his, palm down. She was slowly slipping her fingers between his for them to intertwine.

"What are you doing, Jane-chan?" Izaya smirked narrowing his crimson eyes.

"Trying to comfort you," she told him.

"I don't need…" This conversation sounded familiar. "I don't need it," Izaya continued anyway.

He was twisting and tweaking his words again. Sure, Izaya didn't **want** to lean on someone's shoulder, but he did **need** it. Jane's discovery that morning had proved it. The woman abruptly stood back up to gave the dumbfounded male a quick hug before realizing the awkward position. Izaya's face being lower than a comfortable level. "Oh! Ahh…" The woman glanced to the side feeling rather embarrassed. At least she was wearing a bra now. The raven's narrowed eyes had apparently been thrown out the window, widely looking up at her. Jane quickly apologized going back to restoring the footage. It was a little alarming how much she let herself be in contact with the male but it wasn't as if he going to think of it in a… dirty way, right? The woman peeked over her screen only to connect with his gaze that was regaining composure. Izaya slipped her a smirk before bringing his eyes down; deep red gliding along as if he was skim-reading.

Okay… Maybe, maybe he thought Jane-chan's… shape wasn't too bad. Well, he didn't choke on breasts so that was a plus. But enough about that! This was the perfect opportunity to tease her. "Perhaps, Mae-chan's naivety is catching up to you, Jane-chan~" he cooed.

"Perhaps, you're immaturity is getting to you, Izaya-kun~" the female hissed back. Izaya let a chuckle escape his lips only for it to quickly disappear as his laptop's screen went out. Oh shit. Apparently he was being way too readable as the brunette asked, "What?" Jane's hiss was swiftly removed, now concern upon her features.

Izaya continued his laughter weakly. "My battery died," he informed aloofly finishing his feeble attempt of giggles. He had spent the last of his battery thinking about breasts. What the actual fuck? He… was dead. He was so fucking dead. Shit! Did he save all that shit or not? He still had a chance, right? What if he informed Shiki about the break-in? not the full story of course. Ohh~ but then that would have to involve Jane-chan… wait… why did that matter? Why did that thought even occur to him? Oh too bad! He'd be telling them about 'Maemi Shimizu' not Jane-chan. However, Shiki will most certainly wonder why the group of four decided to target her. But it's not that he'd be more interested in her than Kumaru. So Izaya needed to distract the gangster with some false info. Well, not exactly 'false' just tweaked a bit. But if Izaya didn't have evidence then Shiki wouldn't believe; though he'd pretend as if he did. The raven never wanted Shiki to know about his special, yet troublesome, scapegoat. Nakura. But it looked like he had no choice.

He certainly couldn't tell Shiki that Kumaru and Nakura, and who knows how many others, were after the infamous Izaya Orihara. Though, there shouldn't be too many since humans knew not to mess with him. After all, he was disturbingly known as 'that guy who somehow always got away **alive **from Shizuo Heiwajima, the utter embodiment of violence.' But all the same, he should really slap down the 'get rid of Izaya' operation… but that's the next task. There was no time to handle multiple jobs! What could he tell Shiki? What was Nakura's, made up, reasoning for keeping Kumaru around? And what if Kumaru had actually not gone to Nakura by now? And what will happen to Nakura if Izaya played him as the bad guy? He couldn't die now. Nakura was Izaya's lifetime toy, he couldn't get him killed!

"Calm down. It's nearly done downloading, just give it sec, okay?" Izaya heard someone say. The male glanced up to the woman who was impatiently watching the screen's bar gradually fill with color. Tapping but not pressing her index finger on the letter 'J' over and over, Izaya inspecting her. That… didn't take as long as what he thought it would. He guessed that yet again Jane-chan's skills and talents exceeded his expectations.

"You're finished? Wow! You're nearly as good as me Jane-chan~" he smirked easily, pushing down his rambling thoughts.

"I'd appreciate a thank you, you know~" she hushed looking at him expectantly.

Izaya raised his brows, stilled for a couple of seconds before standing. From behind her in the woman's ear, he whispered, "How about something better than a thank you?" he smirked up to his little games again. Jane gave him a warning look to the side to back the fuck off but the male ignored any sign of faked hostility only focusing on the woman's index finger repeatedly tapping faster now. He moved closer once more, her finger intensifying the motion.

"If you lick my ear again, I will stab you," she declared staring at the 86% filled bar on the screen, seeming to give off a calm demeanor. However, with the vigorous drumming, the effect was ruined much Izaya's delight.

"Oh? Is that what you suspect me of doing? And if so, doesn't that mean you're saying getting your ears violated by my tongue is better than gratitude? How naughty, Jane-chan~" the male continued his teasing while the woman continued her violent assaults on the 'J' key. "Honestly Jane-chan, you should have just been open with me and say you were into those kinky-

"That's it!" Jane bellowed as she hopped up from her seat and tackled Izaya to the floor. "Punishment!" she proclaimed pushing his head to the side to show him the embarrassment and humiliation she felt. Payback! The time to attack was now! And with that, Jane forced the tip of her tongue on the idiot's ear.

Said idiot being somewhat dumbfounded yet again. The slickness of the muscle was beyond disturbing… however, a thought emerged to the surface of his brain. At least, it was Jane-chan… Izaya tried to dig the thought a hole to bury it deep within but other thoughts – such as his rational thinking of playing it cool, his ridiculous idea to pull her off him and bolt for the hills, and the thought of despising the feeling of her on top of him – fell into the abyss instead. Shit! Shit! Shit! Why was he enjoying it? Izaya didn't know whether he should consider it fortunate or unfortunate that Jane popped up, smirking widely under the impression she had just put him through a lifetime of trauma.

How wrong she was.

* * *

**Author speaking! Oh my! It's been longer than two weeks, sorry! I got busy... And I was also writing another chapter... It's not done yet but you won't get to read it until Halloween. Hehee look forward to an AU Special! I'm so excited! **

**If you want, you can suggest what mythical beings each character should be! Except for Celty since she's already a Dullahan... Or for a twist, maybe she's the only one who's human! Oh my gosh! I like that idea! Tell me what for think! **

** Anyways, I've decided to stick with the long chapters if that's okay! Hehe bye for now!**

**Edit: Wow it's been a very very very long time. Sorry. I just wasn't happy with anythi****ng ****I wrote and reading this fic back I realized ****it'****s... well it's not good hahaha. So I've decided to rewrite it. **


End file.
